The global climate risk index occupies 188 countries for vulnerability and access to finance – planet status

Columbia Climate School researchers, with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, have presented a new index that integrates the vulnerabilities of countries with the hazards of natural and human quality with their ability to access financing to pay the actions of prevention, recovery and reconstruction. The climate finance vulnerability index (Clif) Interactive Board It shows current and future scenarios of risk exposure of 188 nations and identifies the 65 more nations at risk or “red zone”. Two thirds of these countries are in Africa.

The objectives of the index are to promote more comprehensive risk assessment standards, help agencies aim at resources to mitigate vulnerability and reach the most effective communities that face financial risks and disasters.

“Climate shocks are becoming more frequent and intense, however, many of the nations that face the highest threats are also very indebted, which limits their access to financial markets,” he said Jeff SchlegelmilchDirector of the National Disaster Preparation Center in Columbia Climate School, who directed the development of the index. “Traditional help models based on GDP per capita or income level do not capture the unique and growing risks of climate exposure along with limited access to capital to manage these risks.”

The Clif vulnerability index provides a novel and more realistic image of risk, including access to financing to address climatic vulnerabilities, said Schlegelmilch.

Heat waves, floods and other extreme events caused by a heating world could lead to 14.5 million deaths and $ 12.5 billion in world economic losses by 2050, according to the World Economic Forum. The United Nations Environment Program also estimates that the annual adaptation financing gap could be as much as $ 387 billion One year. The World Bank calculates that without significant investment, climate change could overcome 132 million people In poverty by 2030. At the same time, the high costs of indebtedness and limited access to finance keep many nations trapped in a cycle of response and recovery of climatic disasters, without obtaining true profits towards mitigation and climatic adaptation.

“As governments around the world prepare for the fourth International Conference on Development Financing next week, the gap between the development objectives and the necessary financing has never been greater,” said Eric Pelofsky, vice president of global economic recovery of the Rockefeller Foundation. “The Clif Vulnerability Index launches an important conversation about data that should boost scarce resources to vulnerable countries that face immense challenges to access financing. When using the index, donors and financiers can prioritize support to countries that potentially live a disaster of the crisis.”

The index integrates data on debt sustainability, financial integration and sophistication, and governance considerations that influence loan conditions with vulnerability evaluations related to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, conflicts and other hazards.

“A donor interested in financing climatic adaptation and resilience wants to see that his contribution has the maximum possible impact,” he said Gautam JainSenior of Research at the Global Global Energy Policy Center of the University of Columbia and the Index’s cooker. “The index can help the donor choose between two countries that face similar climatic disasters risks depending on where their funds can go beyond, since the index explicitly includes a separate dimension that covers the capacity of each country to access financing.”

Users can filter the results of the index through “optimistic” and “pessimistic” scenarios for a timeline 2050 or 2080. These four scenario options explain various degrees of emissions, population growth and international collaboration on mitigation and climate adaptation. Of the 65 nations that appear in the red zone, 47 remain in that category in the four scenarios.

Additional key findings

• More than 2 billion people live in the nations of the red zone, where the risk of important danger and/or disaster is high and access to finance is decreasing. Almost all 65 nations in the red zone are low and medium -sized nations as defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and many of the most rapid growth populations in the world.
• Forty -three countries in the red zone are located in Sub -Saharan Africa. They represent almost 1.2 billion people. The population of Africa continents is expected to be more than double by 2070, and 21 nations are in debt anguish or with high risk of entering the debt. The African nations that are located in the lower 10 in the four climatic scenarios include Angola, Burundi, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Lesotho, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan and Zambia.
• Six Asian Pacific countries appear in the red zone, and house more than 520 million people: Bangladesh, Kiribati, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Asia was the region most affected by the world of climate, climate and water -related risks in 2024, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
• The Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) has eight nations of red areas, home of more than 100 million people: Belize, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela. The LAC region is vulnerable to climate change and requires an investment of between $ 470 million and $ 1.3 billion to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, according to the Inter -American Development Bank.
• Ukraine and Cyprus are the two countries in the Red Zone of Europe and have a combined population of 39 million people. Cyprus appears on the optimistic scenarios of 2050, 2050 pessimistic and 2080 pessimistic. Ukraine appears in 2050 optimistic and 2080 optimistic scenarios.
• In the four climatic scenarios, eight of the 10 best positioned nations to respond are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They are Denmark, Estonia, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States. China is also located in the Top 10 in the four climatic scenarios. Thailand falls within the Top 10 for 2050 and 2080 optimistic scenarios, while the United Arab Emirates do so for the 2050 and 2080 pessimistic scenarios.

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About Columbia Climate School
To address the urgent challenges facing our planet, the Columbia Climate School was launched in 2020 to educate future climate leaders, support innovative research and encourage essential solutions. The National Disaster Preparation Center (NCDP), Columbia Climate School, at Columbia University, works to understand and improve the ability to prepare, respond and recover from disasters. NCDP focuses on the preparation of government and non -governmental systems; the complexities of population recovery; the power of community commitment; and the risks of human vulnerability.

See the index here: https://financaadaptationindex.org/ And to read the Technical Methodology Report, visit: https://clifvi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/climate-finance-vulneability-index-technical-methodology.pdf

About the Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy based on collaborative associations at the borders of science, technology and innovation that allow people, families and communities to bloom. We make great bets to promote the well -being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing in human opportunity and reversing the climatic crisis transforming systems into food, health, energy and finance. For more information, register for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us in x @@rockefellerfdn and LinkedIn @rockefeller-foundation.

Media contacts:
Francesco Fionella, Columbia Climate School: press@climate.columbia.edu

Jessica Kosmider and Javier Romualdo Perez, The Rockefeller Foundation: media@rockfound.org