Global climate risk index 2010
Permanent Link:

Material Information

Title:
Global climate risk index 2010 who is most vulnerable? Weather-related loss events since 1990 and how Copenhagen needs to respond
Creator:
Harmeling, Sven
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Place of Publication:
Berlin, Germany
Publisher:
Germanwatch e.V.
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2009
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Natural hazards and disasters ( lcshac )
Climate change ( lcshac )
Millennium Development Goals ( lcshac )
Hazard mitigation ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )

Notes

Summary:
The Global Climate Risk Index 2010 ranks countries according to the amount of human and economic losses sustained as a result of weather-related extreme events, such as storms, floods, and heat waves, between 1990 and 2008. Like other documents that address growing concerns with climate change, it notes that extreme weather events are on the rise both in terms of their magnitude and their rate of recurrence, fundamentally threatening present progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In order to determine the human and economic impact of these events, the author used the Munich Re database NatCatSERVICE as well as available socio-economic data. It uses indicators measuring the annual number of deaths, the number of deaths per 100,000 persons, total losses in PPP (US$), and losses as a percentage of GDP. The study consciously excludes indicators measuring ‘affected people’ or indirect economic impacts given the difficulty in ensuring the reliability and comparability of these indicators across the world. It found that the 10 most affected states were from the developing world, with Myanmar being among the most affected during the 1990-2008 period. With these trends, the author advised those attending the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change to develop an ambitious Adaptation Action Framework that funnels funds to the most vulnerable developing states and ensures better disaster risk reduction (DRR) insurance schemes within vulnerable regions along with other mitigation and adaptation initiatives. While it is hard to predict hydrometeorological disasters, by displaying the pattern of losses worldwide, the Climate Risk Index (CRI) can be critical to helping shape future DRR initiatives and policies in the most affected regions. Perhaps one area where the index can be strengthened is through the development of indicators that measure the impact of these disasters at the sub-national level, thus increasing national capacity for targeted DRR policymaking and implementation. It would prove interesting for future researchers to attempt this feat to determine specific areas within states that are most vulnerable so as to develop appropriate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Additionally, one hopes that others will make available similar indices for other types of disasters, namely those associated with geological and biological hazards. ( English )
Subject:
How to read the Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index p. 4; 1 Key results of the Global Climate Risk Index 2010 p. 5; How Copenhagen can make a real difference for countries at risk p. 7; 2 Additional analyses p. 9; 2.1 Countries most affected in 2008 p. 9; 2.2 Relevance of extraordinary events in the period of 1990-2008 p. 10; 2.3 Country-group comparison p. 12; 3 Methodological Remarks and Limitations p. 13; 4 Annex p. 15; 5 References p. 19 ( English )
Citation/Reference:
Harmeling, S. (2009). Global climate risk index 2010: who is most vulnerable? weather-related loss events since 1990 and how Copenhagen needs to respond. Germanwatch.
General Note:
Briefing Paper

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042543
9783939846581 ( isbn )

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction