Climate-induced Catastrophes
Bangladesh fifth most vulnerable in 2 decades
Says new CRI report
Bangladesh has ranked fifth among 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change-induced natural disasters in the last two decades from 1993 to 2012, according to a new report.
During the period, Bangladesh suffered damages worth US$1,832.70 million, wrought by 242 types of natural catastrophes, states the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2014.
Germanwatch, a German based non-profit research organisation, prepared the report with the assistance of Munich Re Foundation, another German-based organisation, ahead of the the UN climate conference 2013, which kicked off Monday at Warsaw, Poland.
Haiti, the Philippines, and Pakistan are the three countries most affected in 2012.
In the report, Germanwatch asked the international community to make the Warsaw climate talks a turning point by starting immediately to reinforce its efforts in addressing climate change and the consequential losses, which are increasing.
The CRI report says, “The COP19 must make commitments towards establishing a consolidated international response for instance in the form of a mechanism.”
As the COP17, held in Durban, decided to establish a mechanism to recoup damages and if, at all possible, compensate for losses, which is a major thrust of the Warsaw conference.
More than 5.3 lakh people died as a direct result of almost 15,000 extreme weather events, and losses of more than $2.5 trillion (in PPP) occurred from 1993 to 2012 globally, says the report.
In the long term index, countries including Honduras, Myanmar, Haiti and Nicaragua are top four countries lying ahead of Bangladesh. In the CRI 2013, Bangladesh took the fourth spot in the long term index.
The indicators, the researchers of Germanwatch used to make the index, are total deaths, number of events, loss of property of each person, and loss of gross domestic product. In 2012, the other most vulnerable countries were Madagascar, Fiji, Serbia, Samoa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia and Nigeria.
In terms of extreme weather events, the year 2012 will most likely be remembered for the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy in October that year, which made headlines for several days in the global media. Its damages were worth over $68 billions, according to the report.
The Warsaw climate conference is likely to heat up and pave the way for a successful outcome of an acceptable and legally binding agreement in 2015, as the super typhoon Haiyan battered the Philippines, killing over 10,000 people just two days before the start of the conference.
-With The Daily Star input
