The Resilient Futures Investment Roundtable is a space for leaders and practitioners from private, public, research and not-for-profit organisations to come together to share knowledge, experience and expertise to improve the way decisions are made about resilience investment.
Unlocking capital flows to support long-term reslience.
Equipping decision-makers with systems-thinking approaches.
Improving access to resilience valuation tools and frameworks.
Encouraging systematic approaches to resilience planning.
Strengthening cross-sector partnerships for resilience investment.
The cost of extreme weather disasters has risen dramatically over recent decades. Climate change is deepening inequalities, hurting livelihoods and, at worst, forcing communities from their homes.
For Australian communities to thrive in the face of escalating climate threats, we need to substantially increase the flow of funding to climate change adaptation and resilience building. Yet right now, Australia continues to spend far more on cleaning up after disasters than on proven, proactive measures to better prepare us for the climate impacts of today and tomorrow. With each disaster, recovery becomes harder and costlier, creating feedback loops of vulnerability that strain infrastructure, resources, and livelihoods.
The Resilient Investment Futures Roundtable is working to break this cycle. Born from the Australian Business Roundtable’s Resilience Valuation Initiative, and now convened by Climate KIC Australia, the Roundtable brings together leaders from government, finance, research, and civil society to share knowledge, improve the way resilience investment decisions are made, and increase investment in projects that protect vulnerable communities, enhance liveability, and ensure Australia is prepared for the future.
The Resilient Futures Investment Roundtable aimed to increase proactive investment in physical and community resilience measures to protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of disasters and climate change.
Through the Resilient Futures Investment Roundtable, we supporteda shift in the resilience finance conversation from reactive disaster recovery to proactive, systems-based investment planning. Through deep collaboration with Roundtable members, we developed a concept paper and framework
that guides organisations from short-term fixes and merely valuing avoided losses, to long-term solutions. This pathway towards systemic resilience investment — which draws on thinking developed by CSIRO — takes organisations through four stages, from focusing on individual assets to comprehensive systems-based resilience planning. It enables organisations to enhance their decision-making capacity for systemic resilience investment and ultimately increase the flow of funding to resilience projects.
This approach is already driving stronger cross-sector partnerships that can align public and private finance with resilience-building needs, and the protection of vulnerable communities. Moving forward, Climate KIC Australia will continue working with Roundtable members to develop collaborative partnership models that ensure resilience investment reflects diverse community needs, strengthens adaptive capacity, supports long-term climate resilience and creates multiple layers of value – economic, environmental and social.
As Lead – Strategic Projects, Melinda specialises in climate change adaptation and resilience. She delivers applied, collaborative research and innovation across Australia, Europe and the Pacific. Melinda draws on on her legal and policy background, as well as qualitative research and co‑design to support place‑based and systems‑focused resilience outcomes.