DURBAN—The Philippines is among the top 10 countries most severely affected by extreme weather events in the last two decades, according to the new Global Climate Risk Index 2012.

From 1991 to 2010, the Philippines ranked 10th—with Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras taking the top three spots—as countries most affected by weather extremes such as floods and storms in 2010 and during the past 20 years.

The latest climate-risk report on 135 countries was published by the European organization Germanwatch on the sidelines of the global climate-change summit on Tuesday. The report factored in the cost of climate-change events in terms of total deaths, number of events, loss of property and loss of gross domestic product.

“The Philippines has to be prepared. Disaster preparedness has to be scaled up to the local level and we need to look into a long-term solution to combat climate change,” Sven Harmeling, author of the report, told the BusinessMirror. “The findings can be seen as a warning signal to be better prepared for a higher level of extreme weather events.”

Harmeling said the mounting cost of dealing with disasters will be decisive for necessary commitments by all governments to reverse the trend of global emissions and address climate change.

According to the report, more than 14,000 extreme weather events have claimed more than 710,000 lives and losses of more than $2.3 trillion.

2011 among hottest on record

This year is set to become the 10th hottest year on record, with 13 of the warmest years on record in terms of average global temperature occurring within the last 15 years, according to a report unveiled here on Tuesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

“Our science is solid and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said. “Our role is to provide the scientific knowledge to inform action by decision-makers.”

According to WMO’s provisional report, the global average temperature was at 0.41 degrees C above the 1961-1990 average of 14 degrees C, making it the 10th warmest on record. The 13 warmest years on record have all occurred between 1997 and 2011.

With global temperatures rising, the WMO said it would likely contribute to extreme weather conditions like severe droughts, floods, heatwaves, heavy rains and typhoons.

As more than 10,000 delegates from 194 nations converge here in Durban for the two-week climate-change negotiations to decide on the fate of the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions which is due to expire next year, climate activists appealed for strong action to tackle the problem.

“Urgent action is needed now to combat the changing climate,” Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment told the BusinessMirror. “It will be disastrous, dangerous and will make the developing countries like the Philippines more vulnerable to climate change.”

Bautista, however, said while many countries are already taking action to prepare for climate-related disasters and adaptation efforts, governments must show strong leadership to come up with adequate, justified action in Durban to further increase disaster preparedness and the resilience of poor countries.

Most developing countries, including the Philippines, are demanding the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol as well as a binding commitment from industrialized countries to significantly reduce their carbon emissions, said Frances Quimpo of the Center for Environmental Concerns and Climate Asia Pacific.

Both Bautista and Quimpo are hopeful that the Philippines, through Climate Change Commission Secretary Lucille Sering, will show political leadership in the climate-change debate and advance the welfare of the poorer and vulnerable people.

“We have yet to hear strong words from our government, through Secretary Sering, and push for the common good of the people especially those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” Bautista said.

Rowena Bolinas, the national coordinator of Aksyon Klima, on the other hand, commended President Aquino for taking action on the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), weeks before the Durban climate talks.

“We hope that this is a signal for the continuous commitment of our government toward a meaningful action on the country’s resilience to climate change,” Bolinas said.

Earlier, Sering said the NCCAP was a boost for the Philippine delegation now taking part in the negotiations here. The action plan, she said, will be submitted to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Policies under the action plan, which will be reviewed every six years, include the establishment of a single water-governing body, reforestation programs, and adaptation practices in agriculture, health infrastructure and social services sectors in the Philippine Development Plan.