Sep 25, 2024

ASTM highlights commitment to PREPARE Call to Action during New York Climate Week panel

During a panel discussion in New York City on Sept. 23, ASTM International Vice President, Global Cooperation, Teresa Cendrowska, discussed ASTM’s commitment to the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) Call to Action to the private sector. The event took place to introduce a new cohort of organizations responding to the PREPARE Call to Action and to showcase the ways key private sector entities support climate-vulnerable communities.

The panel took place during New York Climate Week. John Podesta, senior advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden for International Climate Policy, spoke at the event. Nisha Biswal, deputy CEO of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also spoke. The panel was moderated by Gillian Caldwell, USAID chief climate officer.

During her presentation, Cendrowska outlined how ASTM pledges to enhance climate resilience through several key initiatives, including:

• creating and revising standards to help communities transition from identifying climate vulnerabilities to taking concrete adaptation actions. This includes developing standards for climate and community mapping, nature-based flood mitigation, property resilience, flood-resistant building materials, climate risk management, sustainable agriculture, and smart textiles.
• providing access to its standards at no cost through its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) program. ASTM will also partner with companies and other PREPARE partners to develop new standards that meet the needs of climate-vulnerable communities in developing countries, leveraging its global network and consensus-based process.
• developing an online repository of case studies showcasing how voluntary technical standards have been applied in emerging economies to enhance climate resilience. ASTM will also compile a database of over 700 standards from 65 organizations to support the UN DRR’s Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities, helping cities move from assessment to action.

Cendrowska was invited to address the panel by USAID and the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate.

Media Inquiries: Gavin O’Reilly, tel +1.610.832.9618;
     

Release #11909

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