Five of the world’s top 15 countries vulnerable to climate change dot the vast Pacific Ocean, vulnerable to the storms that sweep across with nothing to hinder them, and must step up efforts to brace for future adverse impacts, according to a special breakout in the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Monitor.
All of the islands have experienced disasters of astonishing magnitude, with tropical cyclones in some cases wiping out as much as 90 percent of dwellings on some islands, and cutting steeply into gross domestic product. Most of them are tiny, including Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa and the Solomon and Cook Islands, among others, and face problems of amassing the resources to deal with what is shaping up to be huge problems from rising seas, intensifying storms and other climate-related problems.
“Climate change is bringing additional risks from global sea rise – and potentially heightening vulnerability to more intense, frequent and prolonged extreme weather,” according to the report, prepared by Ananya Basu, Robert Boumphrey, Prince Cruz, Noel Del Castillo, David Freedman, Rommel Rabanal, Shiu Raj Singh, Cara Tinio, and Laisiasa Tora of the ADB’s Pacific Department
Its main conclusion is that globally, medium-term risk clouds better-than-expected short-term gains. Despite a strong global economy, the report says, recovery remains weak in many countries and medium-term risks to growth, such as tighter monetary policy, inward-looking policies, and persistently low inflation in advanced economies, among others, continue to cast a shadow over the global economy.... Pacific Islands Face Climate Destruction, ADB Says
