The relationship between the global migration crisis and climate change 9:12
(CNN) --
China is home to 16 of the world's 20 regions most vulnerable to climate change, according to data released Monday, with some of the world's biggest manufacturing centers threatened by rising water levels and weather conditions. extreme.
Meanwhile, the state of Florida is the most vulnerable region outside of China.
Climate risk specialist XDI assessed more than 2,600 regions around the world using climate models and weather and environmental data to determine the economic damage that rising temperatures could cause between now and 2050.
The study is based on an increase in temperatures of 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, according to a scenario developed by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Data shows that some of the powerhouses of the global economy face catastrophic risks such as rising sea levels, river floods and forest fires, which could also lower property prices and deter investment, according to XDI.
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China's coastal province of Jiangsu, highly industrialized and accounting for a tenth of China's GDP, was ranked the world's most vulnerable territory, followed by neighboring Shandong and Hebei, the main steel production base.
The flood-prone central province of Henan ranked fourth.
The shift of global manufacturing to Asia has fueled a substantial increase in infrastructure investment in already vulnerable regions across China, making it more susceptible to the effects of climate change, according to Hamden.
"Investment in infrastructure has tended to be concentrated in traditionally high-risk areas: river deltas, coastal areas and relatively flat areas," he explained.
The non-Chinese region highest in the ranking was Florida, in 10th place, with California at 19th, Texas at 20th and New York at 46th.
Nine Indian territories also featured in the top 50.
While the weather is likely to be increasingly decisive in determining capital flows, it remains to be seen whether it will discourage investment in the most vulnerable regions, said Karl Mallon, co-founder of XDI.
"Much remains to be done to find out which parts of the world are potentially adaptable and defensible, and which are likely to be abandoned in due course," he said.
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