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The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, an annual report produced by UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft, found that climate change "may pose a serious obstacle to sustainable economic growth in the world's most commercially important cities."
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Report: Climate change may pose threat to economic growth The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, an annual report produced by UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft, found that climate change "may pose a serious obstacle to sustainable economic growth in the world's most commercially important cities."
Most at risk:Bangladesh Bangladeshis attempt to stay dry above flood waters in the capital, Dhaka. Bangladesh was ranked the country most vulnerable to climate change, and Dhaka the world's most vulnerable city, due to its exposure to threats such as flooding, storm surge, cyclones and landslides, its susceptible population and weak institutional capacity to address the problem.
2nd most at risk: Guinea-Bissau Residents walk by the Parliament in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau. African countries rank as at high risk in the index, partly due to their natural susceptibility to events such as floods, droughts, fires, storms or landslides. But their high ranking is also a product of the vulnerability of the population, and the inadequacies of existing infrastructure to adapt to or tackle climate change challenges, due to weak economies, governance, education and healthcare.
3rd most at risk: Sierra Leone Felled trees lie on the mountainside just outside Freetown, Sierra Leone. African countries account for 14 of the 20 most at-risk nations.
4th most at risk: Haiti Photo Album Residents of Jacmel, Haiti, make their way through floodwaters as Tropical Storm Isaac dumps heavy rains in August, 2012. An extreme exposure to climate-related events, combined with poor healthcare access, weak infrastructure, high levels of poverty and an over-reliance on agriculture have led to the country being classed as at "extreme" risk.
5th most at risk: South Sudan Tainted water pours into a containment pond in a Unity field processing facility in what is now South Sudan, where there are concerns about the environmental damage being caused by the oil industry.
6th most at risk: Nigeria Floodwaters coursing through OdoOna in Nigeria's Oyo State in 2011. At least 102 people were killed when a dam burst during torrential rain.
7th most at risk: DR Congo A fisherman sits in a boat on the shore of Lake Kivu in Goma in August. "There are no big fish because of the gas, we only catch small whitebait," said one, referring to the carbon dioxide and methane which saturate the lake.
8th most at risk: Cambodia Cambodia is among the southeast and south Asian countries tipped to face an increased risk of severe flooding due to projected changes in seasonal rainfall.
9th most at risk: Philippines Manila, capital of the Philippines, is one of the five cities, all in Asia and all projected to be centers of high economic growth, which face "extreme risk" from climate change impacts, according to the report.
10th most at risk: Ethiopia A farmer and his children plant a field with bean seeds and fertilizer in southern Ethiopia in 2008, a year after severe floods in the country destroyed most of the food crop. Ethiopia is the 10th most vulnerable country to climate change impacts, according to a report by Maplecroft.
