COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report

The COP26 Resilience Hub served as a convening platform for the UNFCCC’s Race to Resilience, bringing together state and non-state actors to prioritise adaptation and resilience. The report identifies five core messages: the necessity of scaling Locally Led Adaptation (LLA), the urgent need for increased and diversified adaptation finance (preferring grants over loans), the requirement to bridge knowledge and implementation gaps, the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across urban, coastal, and rural contexts, and the essential inclusion of marginalised groups—including women, youth, and Indigenous peoples—in decision-making. It also highlights the emergence of 'Loss and Damage' as a critical focus and notes a significant gap between current adaptation finance flows and actual needs.

• Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) is identified as a critical model for transformative and equitable adaptation that is ready for scaling, provided there is sufficient access to finance. Scaling LLA requires aligning finance with the eight Principles for Locally Led Adaptation and integrating traditional, local, and Indigenous knowledge with scientific insights.
• There is a critical need to increase the volume of quality finance for adaptation and resilience and to shift the financial model from loan-based to grant-based instruments to avoid further indebtedness in developing countries.
• A significant gap exists between current adaptation finance and actual needs; the UNEP 2021 Adaptation Gap Report indicates that needs are five to ten times higher than current flows, and this gap is widening due to increasing costs and stable or decreasing funding.
• Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are essential for transforming risk into resilience across urban, coastal, and rural areas. Effective NbS must respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, protect biodiversity, and include mechanisms to ensure farmers are compensated for transitioning to regenerative practices.
• Equitable adaptation requires the central involvement of women, youth, disabled, displaced, and Indigenous peoples in the design, decision-making, and implementation of resilience actions.
• Transformative resilience requires bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation through knowledge brokering, action research, and the advancement of measurement tools such as the Race to Resilience Metrics Framework and Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi).
• Loss and Damage has emerged as a key focus of negotiations, representing climate impacts that cannot be adapted to. While recognised as a 'third pillar' of climate policy since the 2015 Paris Agreement, it still lacks a standalone funding mechanism.

APA

Bickersteth, S., & Angheloiu, C. (2021). COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cop26-rh-synthesis-report_executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Bickersteth, Sam, and Corina Angheloiu. COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report. Global Resilience Partnership, 2021. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cop26-rh-synthesis-report_executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bickersteth |first1=Sam |last2=Angheloiu |first2=Corina |title=COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=2021 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cop26-rh-synthesis-report_executive-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bickersteth2021cop26, author = {Bickersteth, Sam and Angheloiu, Corina}, title = {{COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cop26-rh-synthesis-report_executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }