Financing Coastal Resilience: Navigating the Future of Climate Adaptation

EDHEC Climate Institute and EDHEC Business School are proud to partner with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank for the EC - EIB Adaptation Days 2025.

This event is organised under the auspices of the UN Oceans Conference and will focus on the critical theme of Coastal Resilience. It will provide a key platform to address coastal resilience challenges and financing strategies for climate adaptation. The discussions will bring together policymakers, financial institutions, and experts to explore innovative solutions to mitigate the risks of sea-level rise and extreme climate impacts.

About the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3)

Co-organised by the governments of France and Costa Rica, the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) will take place in Nice from 9 to 13 June 2025. Under the theme “Accelerating Action and Mobilising All Actors to Conserve and Sustainably Use the Ocean”, the conference aims to drive urgent, expanded action to protect marine ecosystems, strengthen ocean governance, and advance Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water).

UNOC3 will bring together governments, international organisations, financial institutions, researchers, businesses, and civil society to forge effective partnerships and propose concrete solutions for ocean conservation. The event will feature high-level plenary sessions and Ocean Action Panels, where stakeholders will discuss innovative strategies to combat marine pollution, support the blue economy, and enhance coastal resilience.

With EC - EIB Adaptation Days preceding these key discussions, the event will provide an essential opportunity to shape the global dialogue on climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure.

EDHEC Climate Institute Participation

6 June 2025 | Main Conference

Overcoming the main obstacles to finance climate adaptation - the specific case for coastal zones
Expert Insight: Modelling Financial Value of Coastal Infrastructure at Risk: A Scientific Climate Rating Approach?

Speaker: Anthony Schrappfer, Scientific Director, EDHEC Climate Institute
Presentation of a climate risk map for coastal infrastructures, providing a data-driven assessment of exposure and vulnerabilities.

Panelists: 

• Coastal cities urban resilience – Mauritania - Meridiam (TURF Fund Manager) - TBC
• Jan Brooke, Independent Advisor, World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure 
• Simon Dent, Managing Director, Outrigger Impact Fund - Small Island Islands and outermost regions
• Allianz Global Investors - Emerging Market Climate Action Fund (EMCAF) - TBC
• Nicusor Buzgaru (TBC)- ABA Dobrogea-Litoral, Romanian Coastal Protection Programme

Ushering adaptation finance in a new era of innovative mechanisms & private sector engagement
Panel discussion followed by Q&A

Chair:  Dr Annette Detken, Head of the Global Shield Solutions Platform

Panellists:

• Natural catastrophe risk management at pan-European level – Irene Heemskerk, Head of the Climate Change Centre, European Central Bank
• The cascading and macroeconomic effects of non-adaptation - Nicolas Schneider, PhD - Senior Research Engineer - Macroeconomist, EDHEC Climate Institute
• The role for Catastrophe bonds, debt for Adaptation swaps and other insurance-linked securities – Karina Whalley, Head of Public Sector at AXA Climate, Insurance Development Forum*
• Adaptation Benefits Mechanism – Gareth Phillips, Adaptation Manager, African Development Bank*

5 June 2025 | Technical Masterclasses

Using data for better adaptation planning – absorption capacity, usability and granularity
 

Presentation: Existence and use of granular climate data for projecting the regional economic cost of physical climate risks
Nicolas Schneider, PhD, EDHEC Climate Institute

This session will focus on the crucial role of data in climate adaptation planning, particularly in assessing the financial risks of inaction. Nicolas Schneider will present EDHEC Climate Institute’s latest research on Value at Risk (VaR) modeling, quantifying the economic consequences of failing to implement adaptation measures for coastal infrastructure.

Key discussion points include:

• The challenges of data availability and granularity for project-level climate risk assessments.
• Modeling the cost of inaction, including exposure to extreme weather events and long-term sea-level rise.
• Strategies for integrating climate risk analytics into investment decision-making for infrastructure projects.

The session will also feature contributions from leading climate data providers and research institutions, offering insights into emerging methodologies for climate vulnerability analysis:

• Simone Quartini, Economist, Scientific adviser, Blue Economy, Sustainable Finance, Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, DG MAR
• Thorsten Kiefer (TBC), Executive Director, JPI Oceans

Attendance is by invitation only. If you would like to receive an invitation please contact Maud Gauchon at [email protected].