On January 24, 2020 the Environmental Security Program at the Stimson Center, in partnership with the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, led a workshop in Tokyo to expand the Climate and Ocean Risk Vulnerability Index (CORVI) to the Asia Pacific region. With the support of project partners CORVI is now expanding to coastal cities in Fiji, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The workshop outlined the climate security risks which cities face in the Asia-Pacific Region, the CORVI methodology, and how such tools can be used by decisions makers in these geographies to build resilience where it matters most.
Coastal cities are at the forefront of the climate emergency. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and warming temperatures are amplifying the vulnerability of city residents who already face a myriad of existing social, economic, and political vulnerabilities, especially for cities that are experiencing rapid urbanization. These cascading issues have the potential to overwhelm a city’s capacity to respond to the threat posed by climate change.
As a recent report by McKinsey highlights, decision makers are demanding tools to quantify climate risks. Recognizing the interrelated and cascading nature of physical changes, environmental degradation, and demographic shifts, the Stimson Center has developed CORVI, an innovative tool which compares a diverse range of risks to produce a coastal city risk profile. This can then be used by governments, international financial institutions, and the private sector to identify areas of greatest risk and direct resources to build resilience before it is too late. Workshop participants focused on how to apply CORVI to the Asia-Pacific region including identifying CORVI champions in the target coastal cities, finding relevant subject matter experts, and index weighting procedures. The partnership will continue throughout 2020 and 2021 as the CORVI project continues to grow.
