China’s 16 of the 20 worldwide regions have secured their position as the most vulnerable to climate change, as per a recent report published on Monday, February 20, 2023, with some of the world’s most significant manufacturing hubs at risk from increasing water levels and extreme weather.
A specialist report-making firm assessed over 2600 regions around the world, utilising climate models and weather as well as environmental data to determine the economic damage that temperature rises could be weak by 2050. The study was based on a 3 deg C increase in temperatures by the end of this century, under a scenario pulled by the panel on Climate Change.
The data revealed that some engine rooms of the worldwide economy encounter catastrophic hazards such as river flooding, rising sea levels and wildfires, which could also result in depressing property prices and deter investment.
A source who worked on the report said that the company that analysed already feels the important impacts of weather events worldwide, and they would only rise. The company wants to ensure that every investment decision is made in a climate-resilient method.
Furthermore, the industrialised Chinese coastal province of Jiangsu, which accounts for a 10th of China’s GDP, was ranked the most vulnerable territory of the world, followed by neighbouring Shandong and the primary steel production base of Hebei. Meanwhile, the flood-prone central province of Henan stood fourth.
The source added that the shift of global manufacturing to Asia had forced a substantial rise in infrastructure investment in already vulnerable regions around China, making it more sensitive to the impacts of climate change.
He stated that the infrastructure investment has tended to be concentrated in areas which have traditionally been very high-risk-river-deltas, coastal zones, as well as relatively flat areas.
Moreover, the highest-ranking non-Chinese region was Florida in 10th position, with California in 19th, followed by New York in 46th. Nine territories from India were also in the top 50 list.
He concluded that when the climate is likely to become excessively decisive while determining the flow of capital, it stays to be seen whether it will deter investment in more vulnerable regions.
