In November 2013 Germanwatch published the 9th edition of the Global Climate Risk Index for which the most recent data available —from 1993 to 2012— were taken into account. The Global Climate Risk Index 2014 analyses to what extent the impacts of weather-related loss events have affected countries around the globe.
This year's edition of the Climate Risk Index reconfirms that less developed countries are generally more affected than industrialised countries. In the year of 2012 Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan were the most affected countries, while for the period that goes from 1993 to 2012 Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.Furthermore, weather-related loss events are called to become more frequent or more severe due to climate change, further increasing current vulnerability in some regions.
Concerned about climate change and the increasing loss and damage, the climate summit 2013 held in Warsaw, Poland, is a defining moment and should mark a turning point for the international community by starting immediately to scale-up its response in addressing these issues and trigger new dynamics. To this matter, the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag for the regions experiencing this vulnerability to extreme weather events.
