 | |
| Abbreviation | CDRI |
|---|---|
| Formation | September 23, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-09-23) |
| Founded at | New York,United States |
| Purpose | "Promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development."[1] |
| Headquarters | New Delhi,India |
| Membership | 50 Member Countries 10 Member Organizations |
| Website | cdri |
TheCoalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is an international coalition of countries,United Nations (UN) agencies,multilateral development banks, theprivate sector, andacademic institutions, that aims to promotedisaster-resilient infrastructure.[1][2] Its objective is to promote research andknowledge sharing in the fields of infrastructurerisk management, standards, financing, and recovery mechanisms.[2] It was launched by theIndian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi at the2019 UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.[3]
CDRI's initial focus is on developing disaster-resilience in ecological, social, and economic infrastructure. It aims to achieve substantial changes in Member Countries' policy frameworks and future infrastructure investments, along with a major reduction in the economic losses suffered due to disasters.[4]
As of 2025, the CDRI has 60 Members, including 50 Member Countries and ten Member Organizations.
CDRI was first proposed byIndian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi during the 2016Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held atVigyan Bhavan,New Delhi.[5][6] Prime Minister Modi's "experience in dealing with the aftermath of the2001 Gujarat earthquake" as the State'sChief Minister led him to the idea.[7] CDRI was later conceptualised at the first and second editions of the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in 2018–19, which were organized by theNational Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) ofIndia, in partnership with theUN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), theUN Development Programme, theWorld Bank Group, and theGlobal Commission on Adaptation.[1][8]
France,Germany,Italy, theUnited States andCanada became the Members of CDRI in 2020.
Prime Minister Modi approved the proposal for CDRI on 13 August 2019, after which it was approved by theUnion Cabinet on 28 August 2019.[9] TheGovernment of India also pledged financial support of₹480crore (equivalent to₹596 crore or US$71 million in 2023) towards the CDRI corpus.[9][10] It also specified that the financial resources required for research purposes will be met through the existing budget ofMinistry of AYUSH's National Medicinal Plants Board.[11] The NDMA Headquarters atSafdarjung Enclave, New Delhi was decided as the site for the interim secretariat of the CDRI.[5][12] NDMA was also given the task of preparing CDRI's memorandum and by-laws.[11] Design competitions for the CDRI logo and tagline were also organized on theMyGov.in portal with cash prizes of₹1lakh (equivalent to₹1.2 lakh or US$1,500 in 2023) and₹50,000 (equivalent to₹62,000 or US$730 in 2023) respectively.[13][14]
As of September 2025, CDRI consists of 50 Member Countries and 10 Member Organizations. The CDRI Secretariat is keen to expand its membership to 75 countries and 25 organizations by 2026, with a focus on Southeast Asia, Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Fifty Member Countries:[15]
Afghanistan
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brazil
Canada
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Fiji
France
Germany
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
India
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mongolia
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Peru
Samoa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Tajikistan
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
VietnamTen Member Organizations:[16]
Modi officially launched the CDRI at the2019 UN Climate Action Summit inNew York,United States on 23 September 2019.[3] He termed it as a "practical approach and roadmap" towardsclimate change mitigation, adding that "an ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching."[18] Twelve countries participated in the launch event alongside India: namely Australia, Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.[19] The World Bank and theGreen Climate Fund also supported the launch.[19]
Whenever there is a cataclysmic climate event, infrastructure gets undermined and overwhelmed very quickly, and it becomes very difficult for developing countries or countries that do not have the economic wherewithal to address these.[18]
Syed Akbaruddin,India's Permanent Representative to the UN, said that India wants to leverage its ability to convene geographically and economically diverse nations to "work across the board and to bring to the table a group of countries who are ready to address issues of infrastructure."[18] TheSpecial Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction,Mami Mizutori, termed CDRI as a "transformative initiative", adding that disaster-resilient infrastructure is "critical" to reduce economic losses significantly. She also mentioned that such recurring losses weakenpoverty eradication andsustainable development efforts.[20]
The Indian Government and the UNDRR co-hosted an event called "Resilient Infrastructure: Key to the Success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", where the IndianMinister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,Prakash Javadekar, said that the CDRI is an "initiative that brings together developed and the developing countries, small island states, landlocked countries, countries with advanced infrastructure systems, and countries with large infrastructure deficits."[19]
The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being theInternational Solar Alliance.[21] Both of them are seen as India's attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters,[22] and were termed as part of India's stronger branding byIndia's Minister of External Affairs,Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, at the fourthRamnath Goenka Lecture in November 2019.[23] While giving an interview to theIndia Today, he cited them to prove India's "much greater willingness to engage multiple players" under Modi's leadership.[24]
Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs at theO. P. Jindal Global University, said that India and Japan, with their joint experience in disaster management, can use the CDRI to provide a safer alternative to China'sBelt and Road Initiative (BRI).[25] However BRI is an infrastructure creation and funding initiative unlike the CDRI, which is an international knowledge platform.[22]
India's branding has become much stronger, including the International Day of Yoga, the International Solar Alliance or most recently, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.