Kolkata in list of 5 most environmentally vulnerable coastal cities in Asia: WWF

While it may be premature to link Cyclone Phyan to climate change, the fact remains that coastal areas are relatively more vulnerable to extreme weather events. For example, Kolkata has emerged as one of the five most climate vulnerable coastal cities in Asia, according to a new WWF report. Kolkata is tied with Phnom Penh. While Dhaka is the most vulnerable city, Jakarta and Manila share the second spot.

Talking to FE, Shirish Sinha, head, climate change & energy programme, WWF-India, said, “Irrespective of the selection of these cities, the rest of the Indian coastal cities may not be very differently placed on the climate vulnerability index. Its a cause for concern because the frequency of extreme weather events has increased.”

The report, Mega-Stress for Mega-Cities, is a climate vulnerability ranking of 11 major coastal cities in Asia. Vulnerability, for the purpose of analysis, has been considered as a function of exposure to climate change, sensitivity to climate impacts and adaptive capacity. The average of these three functions was taken to arrive at the city-specific vulnerability score.

Kolkata ranks fourth most exposed city to climate change impacts like tropical storms, sea level rise, flooding and droughts, which can cause loss of life and damage to property.

On sensitivity, Kolkata is tied with Manila at the third spot. The sensitivity of a city is determined by its population, gross domestic product, and the relative importance of the city to its countrys economy.

Lack of adequate adaptive capacity sees Kolkata get the second lowest score. While Dhaka is the worst of the lot, Kolkata shares the spot with Jakarta and Manila. The function indicates a citys openness to implement adaptation strategies, depending upon the options available, previous track record in responding and the per capita GDP.

Saying that the report does not mean that climate change would impact only these cities, Sinha adds that these are the front line cities. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, WWF has called upon developed countries to reduce emissions at least by 40% by 2020 and 95% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels to restrict the temperature rise to two degree celcius below pre-industrial times as desired by the inter-governmental panel on climate change.

The report concludes by saying its cheaper to act than not to act. The costs of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change can be limited to around 1% of global GDP per year, whereas the costs of inaction range from 5 to 20% of global GDP per year. The costs can be avoided by altering energy systems substantially and staring adaptation immediately, recommends the report.

Source: The Financial Express

Published on 12 November 2009

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