• Public Administration and Policies

GV-executive magazine presents solutions to face climate disasters in a special edition

22.05.2024

The climate emergency impacts societies and natural systems on all continents, without exception. Extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and cyclones have caused damage to infrastructure, interruption of basic services, as well as deaths and irreparable damage. It was with this in mind that the GV-executive magazine of the School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP) launched this edition with an interlocution to contribute to confronting situations such as the one that is occurring in the south of the country.

The magazine shows in depth the issues involved in climate adaptation, unraveling the development in recent decades, the challenges for public policies and the private sector, and the ways to face climate change and extreme events.

With the participation of Mario Monzoni and Mariana Xavier Nicoletti, from FGVces, as guest editors, the special issue brings different perspectives on climate adaptation. First, it emphasizes the importance of integrated prevention strategies, contingency plans, and strengthening adaptive capacities. It then presents an index that can help local governments improve the adaptive capacity of cities. It also reveals research results that point to the importance of strengthening the performance of Civil Defense in articulation with different actors, especially with the affected communities. Finally, two articles show how companies can gain resilience and contribute to society on climate adaptation issues.

Adriana Wilner, co-editor-in-chief of GV-executive, highlights the contribution of this edition with ways for managers of public, private and civil society organizations to strengthen climate resilience in the country.

"If, until recently, there was little talk of measures to adapt to climate change, the rapid growth of occurrences has shown that it is no longer possible to cover the sun with a sieve. The tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul shows the urgency of increasing the adaptive capacity of cities. Brazil had already broken a record for climate disasters in 2023, the year of the highest temperatures ever recorded. According to the National Center for Natural Disasters (Cenaden), there were 1,161 events, on average, more than three per day."

One-off and short-term measures are usually prioritized, but the scenario in Rio Grande do Sul shows how precarious this perspective is. The articles in the special issue contribute with recommendations, among which we highlight:

  • Establish a systemic and interconnected approach, with connection between different levels of government, academia, companies, civil society organizations and public participation, considering short, medium and long-term measures.
  • To ensure that decision-makers from government agencies have attributions related to adaptation and develop capacities with federal, state and municipal governments, in addition to implementing arrangements and mechanisms to expand the role of the business sector in the agenda.
  • Promote the adoption of indicators by municipal managers, such as The UAI, from the acronym UrbanAdaptation Index, which involves a set of five dimensions (Housing, Urban Mobility, Local Food Production, Environmental Management and Climate Risk Management).
  • Facing barriers such as disconnections between sectoral policies, lack of definition of responsibilities and priorities in government proposals, bureaucratic perspective that delays formal procedures, conflicts between different jurisdictions, predominance of a utilitarian political perspective influenced by political trends and interests that are still hostile to environmental and climate issues, action of pressure groups that lobby for certain private sectors to the detriment of of public interests, and insufficient oversight.
  • Expand the role of Civil Defense, placing the agency as strategic in risk management by monitoring and distributing action competencies among different government entities, focusing on action that combines an anticipatory perspective of risks with the coordination of emergency actions.
  • Expand Community Centers for Civil Protection and Defense (Nupdec), formed from a partnership between society and Civil Defense, placing groups in communities as a focal point in the consolidation of preventive and emergency measures. Courses, training, equipment, and information, in appropriate language and format, should be offered to the population on possible risks, how to act to prevent them, how to recognize the imminence of a disaster, what to do if it occurs, and how to access public authorities in these contexts.

About the magazine

GV-executivo is a generalist academic journal aimed at managers, professors, students and researchers in management and related areas. It intends, mainly, that its texts constitute didactic material for use in professional graduate programs.

As a journal of technological articles, we value submissions that bring new knowledge to the solution of complex challenges of contemporary management, focus on the applicability and replicability of this knowledge and bring transformations in organizations.

All content is made available for free on the page.

Check out the full issue on the website.

Donation campaign for Rio Grande do Sul

The Getulio Vargas Foundation receives donations for the victims of the rains in Rio Grande do Sul. The collection centers will be open daily (except Sundays and holidays), from 8 am to 10 pm.

All the material collected will be forwarded to the defense and social protection agencies of Rio Grande do Sul.

To learn more about what can be donated and the collection points, see here.

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