Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut rank among the 10% most vulnerable places worldwide for climate risk, according to an independent analysis released this week that is geared towards investors.
Based on an “aggregated damage ratio” that looks at total risk to the built environment, Ontario placed 100th and Quebec held spot 191 out of 2,600 territories around the world assessed by climate risk specialists XDI.
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“High ranking for this metric reflects states, provinces, and territories where extensive built-up areas coincide with exposure to climate change and extreme weather hazards,” XDI explains on its website. “Larger territories tend to be higher in this ranking because they have a greater extent of built-up areas.”
Based on an “average damage ratio”, which provides insight into states and provinces that may have fewer properties subjected to greater or more widespread damage, Nunavut ranked 124th. “High ranking for this metric reflects states, provinces, and territories where a larger proportion of total built-up area will be subject to damage from climate change and extreme weather, even if the extent of that area may be small,” XDI explains.
China was home to more than three-quarters of the regions most at risk, with some of the world’s most important manufacturing centres threatened by extreme weather, Al Jazeera reported. In total, China is home to 16 of the world’s 20 most at-risk regions, XDI found. The United States follows China, with Florida, ranked 10th globally, being the U.S. state most under threat, followed by California and Texas.
“Nine areas of India also made the top 50 at-risk regions,” Al Jazeera said. “Other major economic centres in the top 100 include Argentina’s Buenos Aires, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, and Indonesia’s Jakarta.”
At-risk cities in Europe include Antwerp, Hanover, Lille, London, Milan, and Venice.
XDI calculated the physical risks from eight climate hazards, including riverine and surface flooding, coastal flooding, extreme heat, forest fire, drought-related soil movement, extreme wind, and freeze-thaw. The system uses global climate models combined with local weather and environmental data and engineering archetypes to calculate damage through the century’s end. The assessment does not include social, environmental, or economic effects of climate change.
“This is the most sophisticated global analysis of physical climate risk to date, offering a breadth and depth and granularity on a scale we haven’t seen before,” said XDI CEO Rohan Hamden. The dataset is meant to be used by investors, and can inform climate resilient investment in conjunction with state and provincial infrastructure planning.
“It is crucial for companies, governments, and investors to understand the financial and economic implications of physical climate risk and weigh this risk in their decision-making before these costs escalate beyond financial tipping points,” Hamden said.
