China, US, India are in Vulnerable Climate Risk Position by XDI
According to the latest assessment by climate risk specialist XDI Cross Dependency Initiative, China, the US, and India are home to 80% of the top 50 states at risk from climate change by 2050. China has 16 of the 20 global regions that are most vulnerable to climate change, many of which are important manufacturing hubs.
“This is the first time there has been a physical climate risk analysis focused exclusively on the built environment, comparing every state, province, and territory in the world. Since extensive built infrastructure generally overlaps with high levels of economic activity and capital value it is imperative that the physical risk of climate change is appropriately understood and priced,” XDI CEO Rohan Hamden, said in a statement.
XDI analysed over 2,600 regions worldwide to assess the economic damage that rising temperatures could cause by 2050, taking into account extreme weather and climate change-related events such as flooding, forest fires, and sea level rise. The report found that Jiangsu and Shandong, two of China’s largest sub-national economies, are the most vulnerable to climate change globally.
“Infrastructure investment has tended to be concentrated in areas that have traditionally been very high-risk – river deltas, coastal zones, and relatively flat areas,” he said.
The US has 18 states in the top 100 high-risk states, while India, China, and the US together make up more than half of the states and provinces in the top 100. The increase in infrastructure investment in vulnerable regions throughout China due to the shift of global manufacturing to Asia has made it more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. While climate change is expected to have a significant impact on capital flow, it remains to be seen if investment in more vulnerable regions will decrease.
“There is a lot to be done to work out which areas in the world are potentially adaptable and defendable, and which are probably the areas we will see abandoned in due course,” he added.
