Climate change led to $850 billion global infrastructure loss, says CDRI report
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) says climate change has led to an annual average global loss in infrastructure sector to the tune of $850 billion, implying that 14% GDP (2021-22) growth is at risk.
A first of its kind report released by the CDRI puts in perspective problems faced by the Global South and its poor infrastructure governance.
The report has estimated that about 67% of the global value of infrastructure assets is concentrated in high-income countries. The upper and lower middle-income countries account for 25% and 7%, respectively while they carry the highest relative risk with an average annual loss estimated at 0.4%, compared to 0.1% in high income countries.
The report has come out with the first-ever publicly available fully probabilistic risk model — Global Infrastructure Risk Model and Resilience Index (GIRI) — quantifying the average annual losses due to disasters.
The report has analysed nine infrastructure sectors and says to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) nations need to invest $9.2 trillion annually in resilient infrastructure till 2050, of which $2.9 trillion is required in developing countries alone, including India.
Amit Prothi, director general of CDRI, said “the report puts CDRI on the global map with 20 global partners bringing together a unique body of evidence to unpackage the 'resilience dividend' making a compelling economic, political, and financial case to radically upscale investment in infrastructure.”
This is the first Global South driven report that will influence national policies and infrastructure governance, said Kamal Kishore, member of the National Disaster Management Authority and co-chair of the executive committee of CDRI.
