European Investment Bank's €30bn Adaptation Plan, FEMA Chief Sounds Federal Retreat on Disaster Aid, ICEYE-OroraTech Partnership, and More

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has pledged to deploy at least €30bn (US$33.5bn) in adaptation finance through 2030 — but warns a shortage of investable projects remains an obstacle to resilience spending.

The bank’s adaptation plan — launched last Thursday — would see the institution double the roughly €15bn (US$16.8bn) in adaptation finance it delivered over the previous five years. Critical infrastructure is first in line for investment, led by water systems and by energy, transport, and communications networks. The EIB will make more use of blended finance, guarantees, and risk-sharing instruments to strengthen projects with uncertain revenues and make them more attractive to private capital, an approach that an EU expert group urged Brussels to adopt last year. It will also help develop insurance and reinsurance markets in Europe, including for agriculture.

“Climate adaptation is a no-brainer,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “Every euro invested in prevention and adaptation to climate change saves 10 euros in damages and repairs.”

Lending will target climate risk hotspots such as parts of Southern Europe facing worsening heat, drought, and wildfire risk. It will also flow to small businesses, farmers, and cities that lack the capacity to turn adaptation plans into projects. The European Commission estimates the EU must invest €70bn a year through 2050 to adapt to worsening climate hazards.

Abroad, EIB Global will focus on Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. The EU International Adaptation Advisory Program will help these climate-vulnerable countries turn national adaptation priorities into bankable projects. On this front, the EIB is aligned with other public finance institutions. Across all multilateral development banks, adaptation finance to low- and middle-income countries rose 31% to US$34.6bn in 2025.

The bank will also release ClimateSET, a free tool built with the Copernicus Climate Change Service that can generate climate hazard data for specific locations. Its purpose is to improve how climate risks, losses, and vulnerability are measured, and strengthen the evidence for adaptation spending.

Global insured natural catastrophe losses came to US$92bn for the first nine months of 2026, the lowest amount since 2019 and 29% below the 10-year average of US$128bn, according to Gallagher Re. Total losses — insured and uninsured — reached US$242bn, of which US$194bn were attributable to climate or weather events. Severe convective storms drove nearly 60% of insured losses, with the US tally for this peril topping US$40bn for a fourth straight year. Hurricane Isaias, which struck the Florida Panhandle on October 9, falls outside the observation window, but should add low-to-mid single-digit billions to the insured losses total. (Gallagher Re)

Humanitarian funding to prepare and respond to the ‘super’ El Niño stands at about US$450mn, far short of needs, Oxfam warned. The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated up to US$100mn but disbursed only US$20mn so far to six countries. The bulk of the remaining US$350mn is largely unpledged, and countries have to appeal to unlock funds. In contrast, during the 2015-2016 El Niño a US$5bn collective appeal was launched, and nearly US$2bn successfully raised. (Oxfam)

US private flood carrier Neptune Insurance Holdings posted record third-quarter results, in a sign that the private flood market is gaining ground on the taxpayer-backed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Revenue rose 34% to US$59.6mn in the three months to September 30, while written premium climbed 31% to US$132.7mn. Net income jumped 50% to US$17.3mn. The company reported record new business but gave no policy counts or guidance in its release. Uncertainty over the future of NFIP, which runs on short-term extensions granted by Congress, may be spurring the growth of private carriers. (Neptune Insurance Holdings)

Annual coastal flood damages across Asia and the Pacific could climb to US$172bn–US$199bn by 2050, up from about US$27bn today, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned in a new report. Spending US$9bn–US$19bn a year on coastal protection would hold losses near current levels and avoid up to US$360bn in annual damages, a return of as much as 20 times the outlay. International adaptation finance to coastal economies in Asia and the Pacific averaged US$11.4bn a year in 2022–2023 — roughly double 2015 levels. (ADB)

Mexico secured a US$500mn World Bank commitment to bolster its resilience to climate change and other natural disasters. The three-year Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option gives the country fast access to finance in the immediate aftermath of hurricanes, floods, droughts, and earthquakes. The World Bank acknowledged Mexico’s progress improving its resilience to disasters across infrastructure, housing, energy, and health. (World Bank Group)

Longer fire seasons now cost Australia about A$6bn (US$4.2bn) a year, according to modeling commissioned by non-profit coalition Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, far above the insured-loss figures earlier studies relied on. Health and wellbeing harm drives most of the bill (32%), followed by lost trade (25%) and destroyed homes (17%). Cumulative losses could reach A$180bn over 30 years. (Emergency Leaders for Climate Action)

California utility PG&E may spin off or sell its natural gas business if state lawmakers fail to overhaul wildfire liability rules, CEO Patti Poppe told investors last week. She explained that gas customers have to bear higher costs because the holding company has a sub-investment-grade credit rating due to its fire exposure. Cumulative debt interest expense added because of wildfire risk since 2017 amounts to US$4bn. The utility also cut its 2027 capital budget by US$2bn to US$11.4bn, citing higher financing costs. (Bloomberg)

The Adaptation Fund has approved near US$100mn in new projects following its latest board meeting, including resilience works covering Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Togo. Small island states Cuba, Dominican Republic, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Tonga had adaptation efforts financed, too. The fund’s project pipeline is now near US$2bn, a record high — with even greater demand expected. To address this need, the UN-backed organization is calling for COP31 to sign off on a change to its structure so it can make use of finance raised by the sale of cross-border carbon credits. (Adaptation Fund)

International project finance for climate adaptation in the Caribbean amounted to US$2.7bn between 2000 and 2025, against US$16.4bn for renewable energy, according to a UN-backed report. The agency attributes the gap to adaptation projects’ lack of predictable revenues. Direct loans dominated by deal count, while guarantees and other risk-sharing tools that could crowd in private capital saw limited use. The report said that broader use of blended finance instruments could help spur private sector engagement, especially for infrastructure and climate-resilient projects. (UN Trade and Development)

Cameron Hamilton, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told state officials Tuesday they must build the financial reserves and capabilities to handle most disasters without federal help, according to a recording of his remarks acquired by Politico.

Speaking at the National Emergency Management Association’s annual conference, Hamilton said he hoped states would become resilient enough so that the number of federal disaster declarations would go down. His remarks flesh out the Trump administration’s stated aim to shift disaster responsibilities to states, and follow a September memo in which Hamilton called on FEMA to “return to the basics” of emergency management, and largely retreat from a disaster recovery role.

Hamilton also sketched out plans for a “national mutual aid” system between states, whereby specific coalitions would help each other without petitioning Washington DC first.

His agenda tracks the FEMA Review Council’s final report, released in May. The report proposed cutting the federal share of Public Assistance costs from at least 75% to a starting point of 50%, and replacing reimbursements with parametric payouts to state treasuries. The council allowed two to three years for states to build capacity. The White House’s National Resilience Strategy in June urged them to hire their own professional emergency management staff.

States look poorly placed to take on the burden. A FEMA-backed report released Friday found state disaster agencies are typically understaffed and underfunded. S&P Global warned in July that a change to a 50% state cost share could alter how it scores debt burdens in nine states, including Louisiana, Alaska, and Virginia because of their current fiscal capacity.

The world will overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature rise target within years, the UN Environment Program said, calling the exceedance “imminent and unavoidable” in its latest Emissions Gap report. The UN’s new best-case transition pathway assumes peak warming of 1.7°C to 1.8°C before returning to 1.5°C by 2100. However, this requires emissions cuts of 18% by 2030 and 69% by 2040 from 2025 levels, plus carbon removal at unproven scale. Current policies point to peak warming of 2.8°C. Each additional 0.1°C of warming permanently cuts global GDP about 1.2%, or US$1.2tn a year, and exposes 140 million more people to dangerous heat, climate scientist Michael Mann told CNN. (UNEP)

Flood-prone US households can now purchase National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies directly online via a new self-service tool launched by FEMA. Homeowners and renters in nearly 22,700 participating NFIP communities can get a quote and buy coverage through FloodSmart.gov in minutes. The tool targets a wide gap: an Aon analysis found only 2.6% of residential structures in counties with NFIP payouts in 2025 held flood policies. The program’s future structure remains unsettled. In May, a White House-commissioned FEMA Review Council recommended overhauling flood insurance as part of a wider shift of disaster funding and authority to the states. (FEMA)

Ninety percent of US coastal states earned a C-grade or worse for their emergency shoreline armoring rules in the Surfrider Foundation’s 2026 State of the Beach Report. While states are working on long-term adaptation plans, many fast-track shorter term fixes in response to sudden shocks. A lack of enforcement means temporary seawalls, barriers, and other defenses typically become permanent beyond legal deadlines, raising the risks of maladaptation. (Surfrider Foundation)

California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment projects average temperatures rising 3.5°F to 4.3°F by 2050 and the state’s snowpack shrinking by nearly 40% by mid-century. Without adaptation action, the report says 24% to 75% of the state’s beaches could vanish. In addition, wildfire smoke from an increasing number of blazes could cause more than 5,000 additional deaths a year by 2050, the largest increase of any state. (State of California)

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued First Street on October 23, alleging the climate risk analytics firm — recently acquired by MSCI — violated the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The complaint targets flood and heat scores displayed on Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com, which Uthmeier argues are speculative rather than scientific, and contradict FEMA risk classifications. He adds that the scores distort home sale prices and push up insurance costs, and that the company refuses to fix inaccuracies. The suit seeks to bar the scores unless they carry clear disclosures of their uncertainty. (Attorney General James Uthmeier)

The City of Boston won City Council support for its bid to obtain federal authorization of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Boston Harbor coastal storm risk plan. The scheme, estimated to cost US$9bn to US$10.5bn, aims to shield 20,000 structures from flooding and avoid estimated damages of up to US$54bn. Projects of this kind generally qualify for a 65% federal cost share, leaving Boston and its partners to cover the remaining 35%. Brian Swett, Boston’s Chief Climate Officer, told Climate Proof the city is working with the Green Ribbon Commission to develop a Coastal Resilience Financial Blueprint to put forward possible options for funding the non-federal component. (City of Boston)

Pennsylvania home sellers must disclose a property’s flood history and risk under a new state law signed by Governor Josh Shapiro last Thursday. The legislation also requires sellers to point buyers to Pennsylvania Insurance Department guidance on flood mitigation and coverage, implementing a recommendation from the state’s 2024 Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force. The amended seller disclosure form takes effect in July 2028. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

The UK convened its first Climate and Nature Security Taskforce, an expert body that will assess climate- and nature-related risks to national security and resilience. Co-chaired by Climate Transition Minister Katie White and Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Twycross, the group includes International Crisis Group chief Comfort Ero, Center for Climate and Security director Erin Sikorsky, and LSE's Nicola Ranger. Members will review defense and civil contingency frameworks and deliver a gap analysis with recommendations next year. (UK Government)

An independent probe cleared the UK’s grid operator of covering up blackout risks during June’s heatwave but revealed cultural and governance failings in its control room. Law firm Eversheds Sutherland interviewed 36 witnesses and found no evidence that National Energy System Operator (NESO) staff altered or suppressed records while wrestling with extreme temperature strains to the grid between June 22 and 26. However, control room staff did cite “high levels of stress and concern” over rising network demands and the challenges of the net-zero transition. (NESO)

Canada has a new national standard for climate-proofing transit and passenger rail. CSA Group, backed by the Standards Council of Canada, published CSA D700, which sets out how operators should assess exposure to flooding, extreme heat, severe storms, and freezing rain, and how to prioritize resilience investments. The standard also compels operators to monitor rail performance and update adaptation plans as climate data improves. (CSA Group)

ICEYE has partnered with thermal satellite firm OroraTech to expand and enhance its wildfire intelligence product, allowing it to track blazes from ignition through to recovery.

Germany-based OroraTech maintains satellite-hosted thermal sensors that can detect hotspots early and follow an active fire front day and night. ICEYE’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites then see through smoke, cloud, and darkness to gauge building-level damage while an event unfolds. Until now, ICEYE customers could evaluate structural damage only after a fire was already well underway. The tie-up extends that coverage back to the first signs of ignition.

The companies are targeting governments, utilities and insurers in the wildland-urban interface, where fires move quickly between forests, communities and critical infrastructure. The enhanced capabilities offered could help emergency managers to pre-position response teams and order evacuations based on a fire’s actual progress rather than model predictions.

OroraTech launched an eight-satellite wildfire constellation last year. It also supplied Greece’s new wildfire constellation earlier this year.

AI-powered grid software start-up Rhizome has signed a three-year deal with New England utility Unitil to deploy its grid-planning tools across New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Unitil will leverage Rhizome’s gridADAPT and gridFIRM to identify wildfire risks and plan risk mitigation investments. New England is becoming a new wildfire risk zone, with New Hampshire logging more than 500 wildfires since 2021. (GlobeNewswire)

Hawaiian Electric expanded drone inspections of poles and power lines across Hawai'i Island to spot equipment faults before they can spark wildfires. The contractor Asplundh Engineering Services began flights in South Kona and Waimea last week and will continue through November, while another firm, Cyberhawk, covers the rest of the island. The utility remains under heavy scrutiny after the 2023 Maui wildfires, which were linked to its power lines. (Big Island Now)

A new tool from UC Santa Cruz and the US Geological Survey lets Californians estimate climate risks block-by-block and weigh them against the costs of adaptation. CoSMoS Adapts, released alongside the state’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment, is built on the USGS Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS), designed to forecast coastal storm damage. Among its estimates, CoSMoS Adapts finds that restoring sand dunes could save Santa Cruz more than US$40mn a year and Ventura US$20mn. Without protection, annual flood damages in Santa Cruz County could climb to US$229.5mn by 2085 from US$154mn. (UC Santa Cruz)

The City of Boston released Coastmix, an open-source tool that lets residents and planners design ‘what if’ coastal flood defenses and compare their trade-offs against sea-level rise. The objective is to enable community members, educators, and practitioners to craft and communicate coastal resilience strategies in and beyond Boston. (City of Boston)

Political affiliation impacts climate attention and choice beyond extreme weather exposure (Nature Climate Change)

Climate-driven water stress in the United States is seasonal, regional, and shaped by adaptation (Nature Communications)

Rare diseases are an overlooked dimension in climate–health adaptation (Nature Climate Change)

Projected intensification of soil salinization in global drylands under future aridity increase (Nature Communications)

How online communities are reshaping heat preparedness (The Journal of Climate Change and Health)

Urban pluvial flood risk mapping: a high-resolution assessment for the city of Hamburg (Climate Risk Management)

Fiscal discipline without physical resilience (Science)

Climate risk spillovers and sovereign financing (CESIfo)

The cost of wildfire-resilient construction in Colorado (Earth Lab / Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences)

Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2026: Coastal risks on the rise (Asian Development Bank)

Aligned water sustainability in a climate-vulnerable economy: Evidence from South Africa (Sustainable Development)

What impact do high temperatures have on corporate lending? (Banque de France)

More than 50,000 heat-related deaths estimated in European urban areas during summer 2026 (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Growing Resilience: Nature-based solutions for adaptation (IUCN)

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall
Editor