Climate Risk Index 2025 | 22 Feb 2025

For Prelims: Climate Change, Climate Risk Index 2025, Floods, Drought, Cyclones 

For Mains: Key Findings of the Climate Risk Index 2025, Impact of Climate Change, Challenges and Mitigation Strategies 

Source: DTE 

Why in News? 

The international environmental think tank ‘Germanwatch’ has released the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2025. 

What is Climate Risk Index 2025 and its Key Findings? 

  • Climate Risk Index: 
    • About: CRI ranks countries based on their vulnerability to extreme weather events, assessing human and economic losses caused by climate-induced disasters. 
    • Frequency: Released annually since 2006, covering data from the past 30 years. 
    • Methodology & Criteria: CRI assesses the impacts of extreme weather events on countries across six key indicators: economic losses, fatalities, and affected people, both in absolute and relative terms. 
  • Findings of Climate Risk Index 2025: 
    • Between 1993 and 2022, over 765,000 lives were lost, resulting in economic losses of USD 4.2 trillion. 
      • The floods, droughts, and storms were the leading causes of global displacement. 
    • In 1993-2022, Dominica, China, and Honduras were the top-3 countries affected by extreme weather events.  
      • Myanmar, Italy, and India were among the other highly impacted countries. 
    • Pakistan, Belize, and Italy were the top-3 affected in 2022. 
      • 7 of the 10 worst-affected countries are low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 
  • Impact on India: India ranked 6th most affected country (1993-2022), accounting for 80,000 fatalities (10% of global) due to extreme weather events and 4.3% of global economic losses (USD 180 billion). 
    • India has faced severe floods (1993, 2013, 2019), intense heat waves (~50°C in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2015), and destructive cyclones like Gujarat (1998), Odisha (1999), Hudhud (2014), and Amphan (2020). 

Note: The Asia-Pacific (APAC) Climate Report 2024, by the Asian Development Bank projects that India may face a 24.7% GDP loss by 2070 due to climate change, driven by rising sea levels and declining labour productivity. 

What are the Key Challenges Related to Climate Change Mitigation Strategies as per the Report? 

  • Historical Responsibility vs. Future Emissions: High-income nations, despite their historical emissions, demand greater climate responsibility from emerging economies like India and China, leading to tensions over burden-sharing and climate finance commitments. 
  • Global Temperature Breach: The 1.5°C threshold was breached for a full year in 2024, exposing inadequate mitigation efforts.  
    • Without higher ambition, including nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the world is on track for a temperature increase of 2.6–3.1°C by 2100. 
  • Weak Climate Commitments: Many countries are not updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), creating a gap between promises and action. Poor policy implementation further weakens mitigation efforts. 
  • Insufficient Climate Finance: The USD 300 billion annual funding for developing nations is inadequate, and delays in operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund hinder support for climate-vulnerable countries.

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What are the Key Suggestions to Combat Climate Change as per the Report? 

  • Enhanced Climate Finance: Greater financial and technical support is needed for vulnerable countries to adapt and manage climate-induced losses and damages. 
  • Strengthening Mitigation Efforts: Nations must scale up their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to restrict global warming to 1.5°C or lower. 
  • Accountability of High-Income-High-Emission Countries: Developed nations must expedite mitigation actions to curb rising human and economic costs. 
  • Call for Urgent Climate Action: Timely action in adaptation & mitigation is needed to avoid escalating climate-related losses in the future. 

Drishti Mains Question:

Discuss the economic impacts of climate change and their influence on the global geoeconomic landscape.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ) 

Prelims

Q.1 In the context of India’s preparation for Climate-Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements: (2021) 

  1. The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research programme. 
  2. The project of CCAFS is carried out under Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) headquartered in France. 
  3. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centres. 

Which of the statements given above are correct? 

(a) 1 and 2 only 

(b) 2 and 3 only 

(c) 1 and 3 only 

(d) 1, 2 and 3 

Ans: (d) 

Q.2 Which of the following best describes/describe the aim of ‘Green India Mission’ of the Government of India? (2016) 

  1. Incorporating environmental benefits and costs into the Union and State Budgets thereby implementing the ‘green accounting’. 
  2. Launching the second green revolution to enhance agricultural output so as to ensure food security to one and all in the future. 
  3. Restoring and enhancing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures. 

Select the correct answer using the code given below. 

(a) 1 only 

(b) 2 and 3 only 

(c) 3 only 

(d) 1, 2 and 3 

Ans: (c)

Q.3 With reference to ‘Global Climate Change Alliance’, which of the following statements is/are correct? (2017) 

  1. It is an initiative of the European Union. 
  2. It provides technical and financial support to targeted developing countries to integrate climate change into their development policies and budgets. 
  3. It is coordinated by World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). 

Select the correct answer using the code given below: 

(a) 1 and 2 only 

(b) 3 only 

(c) 2 and 3 only 

(d) 1, 2 and 3 

Ans: (a)

Mains

Q.1 Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (2021) 

Q.2 ‘Climate Change’ is a global problem. How will India be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India be affected by climate change? (2017)