Updates

Records were broken inside and outside the 2026 summit as leaders gathered to focus on how effective finance can be supercharged for climate resilience.

Over 850 people, from 75 different countries; one goal.

On Britain’s hottest ever June day, ministers, COP presidencies, top insurers and bankers, and civil society leaders answered the questions: what is holding back investment in climate resilience and what can we do about it?

As the London Climate Resilience Finance Summit got underway amid a searing heatwave, IIED executive director Tom Mitchell said: “Climate change is a clear danger right now.

“But it’s going to be a long-term threat, so the world needs a long-term vision for protecting people and their livelihoods. Investing money now will avoid losses in the future – and simply lurching from crisis to crisis will serve no one."

The current system of financing climate adaptation was designed 20 years ago and is not delivering results for the communities who need most help. A new, more effective system must now emerge.

This longread by IIED executive director Tom Mitchell sets out to rewrite the rules on how climate adaptation and resilience are supported in the most exposed and vulnerable communities.

Climate finance leaders from six continents gathered at the 2025 London Climate Resilience Finance Summit last week, joining heads of state, senior government ministers, finance and business leaders, and civil society to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

A new report outlines ways to reform the methods and mechanisms for determining credit ratings, to promote greater investment in climate resilience and sustainable development in Small Island Developing States and other climate-vulnerable countries.