2024 was the hottest year on Earth, affecting weather and ecosystems on a planetary scale and bringing increased risk of floods, drought, wildfires, and tropical cyclones. These risks mean that people everywhere are more likely to experience a massive disaster at some time in their lives, affecting food, health, trade, and financial systems. Strong arrangements for disaster preparedness are needed more than ever before.

The eighth session of the Global Platform is the first to convene since the Mid-Term Review of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was completed, and the second to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting is thus an opportunity for “course correction” as governments and all stakeholders share their own progress, as well as consider the review’s recommendations and the way forward. The Mid-Term Review raised some important questions: Who is responsible for managing risk at the local level? How should disaster risk be treated in the global financial system? How can growth metrics be made to reflect progress in the wellbeing of people and the planet? Such questions are the focus of thematic sessions and high-level dialogues during the week in Geneva. 

This meeting reflects the regional priorities that countries identified in Regional Platform meetings that took place in 2024 and early 2025. Ministerial Roundtables will focus on financing disaster risk reduction (DRR) and promoting school safety. Special sessions will convene on: extreme heat; Africa; and small island developing States (SIDS). High-level dialogues and thematic sessions will take deep dives into the challenges of understanding risk, strengthening risk governance, and building greater resilience at national and local levels, among other topics.

One development that will likely draw interest at this meeting is countries’ agreement at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP-28) in 2023 to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund. The Fund provides financial assistance to countries suffering loss and damage from the impacts of climate change. In a time of shrinking budgets for humanitarian and development aid, many may look to the Fund for support in managing disaster risk and recovery. 

Two preparatory days will take place in the lead-up to the three-day formal conference, during which stakeholders will meet in three parallel meetings: the Stakeholder Forum on DRR; the World Resilient Recovery Conference; and the Global Early Warning For All Multi-Stakeholder Forum.

The eighth session for the GPDRR will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 to 6 June 2025, convened by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and hosted by the Government of Switzerland.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting are Delia Paul; Suzi Malan, Ph.D.; María Ovalle; and Liz Willetts. The Digital Editor is Anastasia Rodopoulou. The Editor is Leila Mead.

Funding for ENB coverage of the GP2025 has been provided by UNDRR.