Designing a Better Future: Climate CoLab and Crisis Mitigation with Maarten van Aalst

In this special podcast, we sit down with Marteen van Aalast to discuss climate resilience and his role in the Climate CoLab A2R contest. Van Aalst is the director of the Climate Center and coordinates support to climate risk management across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. Van Aalst explains how the UN’s A2R initiatives (Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape), which launched at Paris COP21; he helps implement protection and resources for vulnerable communities during environmental crises. He utilizes the scientific capacity to translate forecasts into humanitarian action. He also discusses the current ClimateCoLab competition on developing climate risk insurance solutions, to help protect those most vulnerable to environmental issues. All are encouraged to explore and contribute to the latest competition, co-sponsored by UN A2R, which seeks new ways to couple climate risk insurance with other social protections to help vulnerable communities absorb climate impacts. Visit climatecolab.org to learn more.