Climate Resilience and Disaster Management

Theme: Adapting Today, Thriving Tomorrow: Geospatial Solutions for Climate and Crisis

Institutional Partners

Seminar

01 May 2026

Overview

The Climate Resilience and Disaster Management Summit convenes global stakeholders to advance solutions for climate adaptation and disaster response. Leveraging geospatial data, AI, and IoT, it explores real-time monitoring of floods, wildfires, cyclones and extreme events via satellite imagery, enhancing early warning and recovery. Urban adaptation strategies integrate nature-based solutions, like green roofs and wetlands, with resilient infrastructure to address rising seas and heatwaves. AI-driven predictive modelling and crowdsourcing optimize disaster management, ensuring equitable resource allocation. Financial tools, including parametric insurance and relief funds, bolster safety and adaptability. The summit bridges forecasting to action, aligning stakeholder goals with sustainable infrastructure, energy and carbon management for resilient urban ecosystems.

Agenda

Leveraging Geospatial Data for Disaster Recovery and Response

Leverage satellite imagery and IoT sensors to monitor energy and infrastructure during disasters, ensuring rapid restoration.
Case studies on disaster response through imagery intelligence: Analyse asset damage using geospatial data to prioritize recovery and mitigate business and civic disruptions.

Climate Adaptation in Urban Environments

Tackling urban heat and water stress from climate change effects.
Nature-based solutions for a resilient cityscape and equitable land use planning.
Policy incentives for green adaptation: Driving systemic changes in the evaluation of safety, resilience, ease of living and working for city inhabitants in times if distress.

Nature-Based Solutions for Resilience

Policy frameworks: Incentivize nature-based renewable projects.
Ecosystems like wetlands and forests mitigate climate impacts, with energy-focused solutions enhancing resilience through renewable integration and carbon management.
Energy from ecosystems: Explore biomass energy from restored forests, using geospatial tools to ensure sustainable harvesting and minimal ecological disruption.

From Modelling to Action: AI and Crowdsourcing for Climate Resilience

Crowdsourcing for real-time disaster management: Facilitating energy supply in times of crisis, using AI to prioritize renewable energy deployment.
Leveraging community response to manage, capture and monitor requirements in times of disasters and climate change induced extreme weather events.

Climate Forecasting to Climate Adapted

Implement AI-driven carbon credit platforms for renewable energy projects and sustainability projects, verified by satellite data, to mitigate energy sector emissions.
Aligning shareholder goals and balancing climate resilience with financial returns in all sectors.

Reassuring Safety: Insurance and Finance

Financial mechanisms like disaster relief funds and insurance towards enhanced safety and adaptability, with a focus on assets in renewable energy, infrastructure and real estate.
Preparedness resulting from microfinance models, financial incentives and parametric insurance.

0930 - 0945

Opening Keynote Address

0945 - 1030

Panel Discussion: Advancing Global Resilience through Climate-Integrated Policy

Focus Areas

This session will examine how climate-integrated policy can strengthen global resilience in an increasingly complex, transboundary multi-hazard risk landscape. It will explore the role of advanced global climate risk modelling in enabling policy coherence across sectors and jurisdictions. The discussion will highlight the importance of interoperable geospatial systems to support evidence-based, cross-border decision-making. Finally, it will connect global frameworks such as the SDGs, Paris Agreement, and Sendai Framework to actionable strategies at national and local levels.

Moderator

Peter Siegmund

Expert Climate
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute - KNMI
The Netherlands

Jara Villanueva

Lead of the Centre of Sustainability and Resilience
European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)
Austria

Jelle de Jong

Executive director
WWF-Netherlands
The Netherlands

Jennifer Marlon

Executive Director
Yale University
USA

Leon Wijnands

Head of Sustainability
ING Nederland
The Netherlands

1030 - 1130

Presentation: Disaster Management in a Multi-Hazard World

Focus Areas

This session will explore strategies for disaster management in an increasingly complex multi-hazard environment. It will examine geospatial approaches to Hazard, Risk, Vulnerability, and Capacity Analysis (HRVCA) to enable integrated and data-driven risk assessment. The discussion will highlight the role of early warning systems in strengthening preparedness, evacuation planning, and risk communication. It will also address community-level adoption of geospatial technologies and the use of spatial data and analytics to enhance post-disaster needs assessment and recovery planning.

Ihwan Rafina

Founder & Director
MosaiX BV
The Netherlands

Katie Grillo

GIS Web Technology Specialist
Cambridge IT Department
USA

Hannah Walters

GIS Analyst
Denver Water
USA

Anand Sebastian

Senior Scientist & Head, Geospatial Science and Technology Division
Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC)
India

1130 - 1300

Networking Coffee Break Followed by Lunch

1300 - 1330

Presentation: Integrating Climate Finance and ESG for Global Sustainability and Risk Mitigation

Focus Areas

This session will examine how climate finance and ESG frameworks can be integrated to advance global sustainability and strengthen risk mitigation strategies. It will explore climate risk-indexed insurance and crop protection mechanisms, alongside parametric insurance solutions for coastal risk management. The discussion will assess evolving EU regulatory mandates and ESG disclosure standards in shaping transparent, risk-informed investment. It will also consider the role of carbon markets, including blue carbon and afforestation initiatives, in mobilizing capital for long-term climate resilience.

Christophe Yvetot

UNIDO Representative to the EU, EIB, OACPS, Belgium and Luxembourg/Head of UNIDO Brussels Office
UNIDO
Belgium

Peter van der Werf

Executive Director
Robeco
The Netherlands

1330 - 1415

Panel Discussion: Planning for Extremes - Climate-Smart Cities & Infrastructure

Focus Areas

This session will examine how climate-smart planning can strengthen the resilience of cities and critical infrastructure against extreme events. It will explore CRZ and flood zone overlays as tools for climate-resilient urban zoning, alongside adaptation frameworks for coastal hazards and flood-resilient infrastructure. The discussion will address urban microclimate analytics and heat stress prediction to inform proactive planning. It will also highlight the use of digital twins, 3D terrain, and hydrological modelling to enhance the design and performance of urban drainage systems, transport networks, and energy grids.

Moderator

Jeffrey A. Carney

Professor
Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER)
USA

Frans Keijzer

Customer Solution Manager
TomTom
The Netherlands

Lisa Broekhuizen

Technical Director
Space4Good
The Netherlands

Dean Hintz

Team Lead - Strategic Solutions; Product Manager Open Standards
XML
Canada

Dean leads the Strategic Solutions team and serves as the Product Manager for Open Standards/XML at FME. He designs and prototypes data architectures and applications leveraging FME's spatial data transformation platform. As the product manager for open standards, Dean oversees FME's alignment with standards from organizations like OGC, INSPIRE, Building Smart, and NENA NG911. His work primarily focuses on sectors such as disaster response, environmental management, climate change, and various geospatial applications including GeoBIM, digital twins, and mapping of indoor and underground environments. Dean's expertise extends to building complex data integration and automation systems, and he actively contributes to pilots, working groups, and industry conferences.

John P Wilson

Founder
USC Spatial Sciences Institute
USA

Dr. John P. Wilson is the Founding Director of the Spatial Sciences Institute and a Professor of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Population and Public Health Sciences, and Sociology at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on the modeling of human and natural systems and makes extensive use of GIS, spatial analysis, and various forms of environmental modeling. Much of this work is collaborative with the goal of improving our understanding of the factors connecting people, the environment, and their health.

Hrishikesh Ballal

Founder
Geodesignhub
Ireland

1415 - 1500

Panel Discussion: Strengthening Disaster Management through Integrated Geospatial Systems

Focus Areas

This session will explore how integrated geospatial systems can enhance the effectiveness and responsiveness of disaster management. It will examine the use of AI, remote sensing, GIS, and Earth observation for real-time hazard detection and dynamic risk mapping. The discussion will highlight spatial decision-support tools, including UAVs and drones, to optimize emergency resource allocation and situational awareness. It will also address the role of mobile applications and multilingual alert systems in enabling timely last-mile communication and community action.