Glossary

Ex ante

Latin for ‘from before’. In the context of disaster events, ex ante instruments are arranged before the event, and ex ante decisions are made at that time as well (Clarke and Dercon 2016).

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other key terms

Parametric insurance

Insurance that pays when an agreed indicator reaches a set level, not actual losses.

Contingent liabilities

Possible financial obligations that only become real if specific future events occur.

Climate resilient debt clause or 'debt pause clause'

A provision in sovereign debt contracts that enables the borrower to temporarily stop repaying debt service for a pre-agreed period when a predefined event occurs.

Crisis

A situation where severe needs overwhelm local and national capacity to respond effectively.

Accountability

Being responsible for decisions and resources, listening to affected people, and accepting consequences for actions taken.

Total crisis financing

Development funding focused mainly on crisis prevention, preparedness and response activities.