Publication

A Universal Taxonomy for Natural Hazard and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessments – Infrastructure Edition

The Universal Taxonomy provides guidance on evaluating and improving the resilience of infrastructure systems.

Last updated: September 2026

With the growing urgency to address the escalating impacts of climate change on the built environment, the Universal Taxonomy Infrastructure Edition provides a clear path forward for both technical and nontechnical stakeholders to navigate risk analysis and implement resilient design effectively.

This framework, published with significant contributions from the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), offers a consistent approach to protect vital infrastructure systems, benefiting both the organizations who operate and maintain them and the communities and individuals who rely on them. Similar to the first edition, which focuses on buildings, it establishes a universal language for risk and resilience assessments for a diverse range of natural and climate hazards affecting systems such as electric power, roads, and potable water.

The taxonomy helps stakeholders across the built environment better understand the impacts of extreme weather and climate on their assets, offering a consistent method for evaluation that can enable a smooth alignment of expectations when pursuing resilience actions.