UNU-VIE engages in strategic global cooperation and serves as a science-policy partner. In select cases, UNU-VIE can also serve as a host institution for global initiatives. Currently, UNU-VIE has hostsing agreements with two initiatives:
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20)
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Ministers of Finance of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is composed of 68 of the most climate-threatened economies, representing 1.5 billion people. It was founded in October 2015 under the CVF Presidency of the Philippines, just two months before the Paris Agreement, in a major effort to strengthen economic and financial responses to climate change. Since October 2023, building on the longstanding collaboration of the V20 and UNU-EHS, a new joint work programme under UNU-VIE has been launched, providing technical and administrative support to the CVF-V20 Secretariat. The goal of the programme is to support the V20 Secretariat as a platform for finance ministers from the most climate-vulnerable economies to set the agenda for developing a climate-resilient global financial architecture, strengthening international cooperation for climate prosperity, and building global strategies for catalytic, development-positive climate action.
For more information, please visit their website.
Global Shield against Climate Risks
With accelerating climate change, more severe and frequent extreme weather events threaten the sustainable development gains of developing countries. To address this, the V20 Finance Ministers, in collaboration with the Group of Seven (G7) and other supporting countries, launched the Global Shield against Climate Risks at COP27. The initiative aims to increase financial and social protection for vulnerable countries and communities by providing and facilitating substantially higher and more effective pre-arranged finance. UNU-VIE is co-hosting the Global Shield Secretariat, the coordinating entity of the secretariat. It provides technical support for the implementation of the Global Shield solutions, coordinates amongst stakeholders, guides fundraising and the strategic development of the initiative, engages with relevant global climate policy processes, especially on climate and disaster risk financing and insurance (CDRFI).
For more information, please visit their website.