11 September, 2026

When disaster strikes, the instinct is to put things back together: repair homes, reopen roads and restore normality as quickly as possible. But in a changing climate, returning to normal increasingly means rebuilding the same vulnerabilities.  

A recent New York Times article argues that our approach to disaster recovery was designed for a world in which catastrophes were random and rare. Today, thanks to climate change and nature loss, disasters increasingly arrive in succession. Drought fuels fire, fire leaves landscapes exposed to flooding, and communities can still be rebuilding when the next crisis hits.  

Yet recovery often remains focused on restoring what was there before. Homes are rebuilt in the same high-risk locations, infrastructure is replaced to similar standards and success is measured by speed. The desire to return to normal can come at the expense of preparing for what comes next.  

But what if we changed tack and used these moments to reconceptualise how we respond to climate risk? Recovery could address the vulnerabilities a disaster exposes and leave communities better prepared for the future. Businesses can help make that shift possible, using their capital, expertise and partnerships not only to respond to disasters, but to rethink how we build in new forms of resilience against them in the future. 

This week, we are delighted to see an example of this, with the launch of Aviva and WWT’s new Wetland Cities programme (a territory, process and partnership delivered in partnership with Good Business). Over the next five years, it will support more than 200 projects across Bristol, using wetlands and other nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk, strengthen climate resilience and generate insights for wider application. In a city where almost one in three homes were estimated to be at risk of flooding in 2025, this is not just about restoring nature. It is about reshaping the city’s relationship with risk. 

To find out more about the programme and Bristol’s planned journey to becoming the UK’s first Wetland City, see the video here. 

By Charlotte Pounder