Image: PTI
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have been ranked among the world’s top 50 regions at high risk due to climate change, according to a new report released on February 20 by the Cross Dependency Initiative (XDI). The report, titled “Gross Domestic Climate Risk”, identified nine out of 50 regions in the world that are facing high climate risk to a fragile physical infrastructure and are located in India. These regions are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, and Kerala.
The index calculated the ‘physical climate risk’ to built environments such as buildings and properties across 2,600 states and provinces globally in 2050. Mumbai, the economic capital of India, has also been identified as a region at notable risk. The report indicates that the vulnerability of these regions is due to their high population density, lack of proper infrastructure and poverty.
Image: Hindustan Times
The report highlights that regions with high physical climate risk will face significant challenges in maintaining their economic productivity, infrastructure, and social stability. It further suggests that the estimated losses due to physical climate risk are likely to range from $1.7 trillion to $2.4 trillion per year by 2050.
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The XDI report also indicates that China’s provinces top the list of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. It notes that nearly half of the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP) is at risk from the impacts of climate change and most of it is located in developing economies.
Rohan Hamden, CEO of XDI, stated that this is the first time that there has been such an assessment focused exclusively on infrastructure, comparing every state, province and territory in the world. The report provides the finance industry with the ability to compare Mumbai, New York and Berlin in terms of physical climate risk, using a like-for-like methodology.
Image: Deccan Herald
Hamden pointed out that many highly-developed and globally-significant economies were found to be at great risk in the assessment, including Mumbai, Buenos Aires, São Paolo, Jakarta, Beijing, Hồ Chí Minh City and Taiwan. As extensive built infrastructure generally overlaps with high levels of economic activity and capital value, the physical risk of climate change must be appropriately understood and averted.
However, the analysis focuses solely on damage and failure of features in the built environment and does not account for other social, environmental and economic effects of climate change, such as water scarcity, impacts on agriculture, biodiversity, or human well-being. The analysis does not account for future increases in building stock either.
The report concludes that immediate action is required to address the physical climate risk in vulnerable regions. It suggests that governments, financial institutions, and businesses need to work together to develop and implement effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. The XDI report provides valuable insights that can help governments and businesses to prepare for the physical impacts of climate change, and create more resilient communities and economies.