Cities of Dhaka, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon and Jakarta face highest climate change risks – Maplecroft Risk Atlas

Maplecroft News: Multinational companies operating in the Asian growth economies will be exposed to spiralling environmental risks over the coming decades, according to Maplecroft’s 5th annual Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas , which identifies Dhaka, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Kolkata as the cities facing the most risk from the onset of climate change.

Maplecroft’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), which forms a central pillar of the Atlas, classifies seven cities as ‘extreme risk,’ out of a list of 50 that were chosen for their current and future importance to global business. Dhaka, Bangladesh, (ranked 1st), Manila, the Philippines (2), Bangkok, Thailand (3), Yangon, Myanmar (4), Jakarta, Indonesia (5), Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (6) and Kolkata, India (7) emerged as the most at risk from the changing temperatures and weather systems that are forecast to take hold in the coming years.

The CCVI has been developed by Maplecroft to identify risks to populations, company operations, supply chains and investments in 197countries down to a level of 25km2. It evaluates exposure to climate related natural hazards; the sensitivity of populations; development; natural resources; agricultural dependency; research and development; government effectiveness and education levels.

With strong economic growth of above 5% forecast for countries such as the Philippines, Viet Nam, Indonesia and India in the next few years, the relevance of climate change to populations and business in the major commercial centres should not be underplayed, states Maplecroft in its analysis.
“As global corporations expand into the emerging growth markets, their operations and supply chains will become exposed to a complex set of climate risks that have the potential to disrupt business continuity,” states Maplecroft’s Head of Maps and Indices, Helen Hodge. “It is essential for companies to identify where suppliers, assets and personnel are most at risk and plan for the long term.”...

Manila Bay at night, shot by Waiting for serendipity, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Warning of massive flooding for Asia's coastal mega-cities

GMA News TV (Philippines): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned Asia’s coastal megacities, including Manila, of more massive flooding incidents that could affect millions of people should current climate change trends continue. In a report titled "Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities," the ADB said the cost of major flooding on infrastructure and the economy could run into billions of dollars, with urban poor populations likely to be the hardest hit.

Apart from Manila, the other Asian megacities identified in the report were Bangkok in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The report, released Friday in Bangkok is the product of a two-year collaborative study by the ADB, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the World Bank. The ADB said the three megacities should find effective ways to address climate change issues such as rising sea levels and extreme weather changes.

…“Land subsidence due to groundwater pumping, dumping of solid waste into city canals and waterways, clogged drainage systems, and deforestation in the upper watershed all contribute to urban flooding," the statement said.

The report said the governments of the three cities should address climate risks as an integral part of urban planning. The measures include “developing strategic urban adaptation frameworks for managing climate risks, strengthening institutional capacity for adaptation, and implementing measures such as land use planning and zoning to help reduce urban vulnerability."…

Bangkok by satellite