Study ranks nations' vulnerability to global warming

Several Asian countries are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change over the next three decades, according to a new study by a British firm specializing in risk analysis.

The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, created by the firm Maplecroft, looks at 42 social, economic and environmental factors in three core areas: exposure to climate-related natural disasters and sea-level rise; human sensitivity to global warming in areas ranging from agriculture to population shifts; and government ability to cope with climate impacts.

Of 170 countries the firm evaluated, 16 rank at "extreme risk," including Bangladesh at the top of the list, immediately followed by India. Several other Asian countries made it into the highest-risk category, including the Philippines, at sixth on the list, Vietnam at 13th and Pakistan at 16th.

The United States sits at the safer end of the spectrum, receiving a "medium risk" ranking of 129th, while the Nordic countries were ranked as best positioned to cope with global warming. Norway was judged the safest of the countries studied, at 170 on the list; Finland came in next at 169, Iceland at 168, Sweden at 166 and Denmark at 165. Ireland was the one non-Nordic nation to receive a lowest-risk ranking, at 167.

Matthew Bunce, principal environmental analyst at Maplecroft, said multinational businesses should take these findings into account when investing in developing nations in Asia and elsewhere, since firms "with operations or assets in these countries will become more exposed to associated risks, such as climate-related natural disasters, resource security and conflict. Understanding climate vulnerability will help companies make their investments more resilient to unexpected change."