3) Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI): Maplecroft hosts this index that quantifies the vulnerability of 233 countries to three major effects of climate change (weather-related disasters, sea-level rise and reduced agricultural productivity). It develops risk indicators for these impacts and embeds these into a methodology for cost-effective allocation of adaptation assistance. (http://maplecroft.com/about/news/ccvi.html)
The ASC has developed a framework for monitoring and evaluating the UK’s progress in adaptation, and the report compared their approach with these adaptation indices. As one can see, there is no single standard way to explore vulnerability and adaptation at the national level.
At the Global Adaptation Institute (GAIN), we designed the GAIN Index while keeping the needs of the private sector at the forefront of our analysis. It is important for the private sector to use not only the GAIN Index to examine water, food & agriculture, coastal protection and energy data to assess existing company operations, but also use it as a tool to plan for future international investments. Visit the GAIN Index Country Rankings.
Gary Lawrence, AECOM Chief Sustainability Officer, is among the many sector-leading representatives participating in the Forum’s Climate Council. AECOM is a leading engineering company that understands first hand the need to develop metrics, highlight best practices and guide policy to help enable an environment that recognizes the urgent need to adapt to these global challenges.
“We care about adaptation at a variety of levels – we have 45,000 people working in 103 countries,” Lawrence said. “They and their families are at some level of risk. Part of this has to do if whether we are a good employer, and trying to anticipate locational choices. It is also a business issue because our clients within the private sector, government and NGOs, know they need to maximize their benefits over the long term. How do we – through design, development and locational decisions – ensure that money implemented in projects is stretched as long as possible?”
To save lives and improve livelihoods around the world, we must recognize that our built environment isn’t yet resilient enough to withstand volatile climate-related events and stress added by an ever-urbanizing world with significant population shifts and the need to increase access to food by many.
Company executives and government leaders need the information provided within indices to determine and prioritize funding to help protect current and future populations in our changing world. The time is now to begin adapting because, as we have seen in Thailand, Philippines, China, and more recently in New York City, our communities will suffer if we wait to invest in improving infrastructure, energy systems, food, water and coastal protection.
