Phl among world's top 10 most vulnerable to climate change

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines ranked ninth among countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, a report by British risk consultancy Maplecroft said.

Maplecroft’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index 2014 also included Manila in the list of cities most at risk of the effects of climate change along with Dhaka in Bangladesh, Mumbai and Kolkata in India and Bangkok in Thailand.

The index was developed to identify climate-related risks to populations, business and governments over the next 30 years.

Three factors were evaluated in coming up with the findings namely  exposure to extreme climate-related events; the sensitivity of populations in terms of health, education, agricultural dependence and available infrastructure; and the adaptive capacity of countries to combat the impacts of climate change. This year’s index rated a total of 193 countries.

Bangladesh ranked first in the index, which means that the country will most keenly feel the economic impacts of changes in the climate.

Also in the top 10 in terms of vulnerability were Guinea-Bissau (2nd), Sierra Leone (3rd), Haiti (4th), South Sudan (5th), Nigeria (6th), Democratic Republic of the Congo (7th), Cambodia (8th), Philippines (9th) and Ethiopia (10th).

Sought for comment, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman Major Rey Balido said measures are underway to mitigate the impact of calamities.

"We are doing our best to be prepared [for the impact of climate change]," Balido said.

Maplecroft also cited the vulnerabilities of other important growth markets namely India (20th), Pakistan (24th) and Vietnam (26th), all of which are in the “extreme risk” category; and Indonesia (38th), Thailand (45th), Kenya (56th) and China (61st), all classified at “high risk.”

“The ability of highly vulnerable countries to manage the direct impact of extreme events on infrastructure will be a significant factor in mitigating the economic impacts of climate change and may present opportunities for investment,” Maplecroft said in a statement.

“Adaptive measures, such as building flood defenses and greater infrastructure resiliency, will, however, require the sustained commitment of governments,” it added.

The report said the regions facing the most increased levels of risk are West Africa and the Sahel.

Manila at risk

The Maplecroft Climate Change Vulnerability Index also came up with sub-national calculations that covered 50 cities.

Manila was among the five cities that present “an extreme risk” along with Dhaka, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangkok.

London in England and Paris in Frances were the only two areas classified as “low risk.”

Maplecroft said Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta, which encompasses the cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan and Foshan and make up China’s manufacturing heartland, are among “the most exposed to physical risks from extreme climate-related events.”

“What cannot be disputed is that the ‘high’ and ‘extreme risk’ countries in Maplecroft’s CCVI (Climate Change Vulnerability Index) include emerging and developing markets, whose importance to the world economy is ever increasing,” the risk consultancy said.

The Philippines ranked third among global disaster risk hotspots in the 2012 World Risk Report, with more than half of its population exposed to natural hazards. About 81.3 percent of the country’s land area is also vulnerable to natural disasters.

An average of 20 tropical cyclones, five to seven of which are destructive, enter the Philippines every year.