Philippines in Moody’s list of most vulnerable to climate

MANILA, Philippines — Moody’s Investors Service has included the Philippines in a list of 36 countries whose credit quality is most vulnerable to climate change.

In an in-depth report titled “Credit profiles of small, agriculture-reliant sovereigns most susceptible to climate change risk,” the debt watcher said the Philippines together with Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritius, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tajikistan and Tanzania have been added to the list of countries most susceptible to physical climate change risks.

Moody’s said agriculture-reliant economies are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the list includes 17 countries in Africa and 12 in Asia-Pacific.

On the other hand, Angola, Armenia and Bolivia were removed from the list of countries most susceptible to climate change.

The international credit rating agency said the credit quality of the Philippines has become relatively more susceptible to climate change.

While the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) indices showed many sovereigns have improved their capacity to face climate change and reduced their sensitivity, Moody’s said the Philippines’ capacity and sensitivity have not changed.

“The Philippines’ heavy reliance on agriculture and high exposure to climate-related disasters imply that it was already among a group of sovereigns that we assessed as vulnerable to climate change – but it is now among the most vulnerable,” Moody’s said.

The agriculture sector employs 31 percent of the country’s total workforce.

On the other hand, about 19 typhoons per year have visited the Philippines over the last decade.

Moody’s said most sovereign credits identified as most vulnerable to climate change regularly face climate-related events such as floods, droughts, changes in the intensity of rainfall, rising sea levels and rising average temperatures.

Other shocks, although not as common as the ones cited, are storm surges and heat waves.

On average, the sovereign credits most susceptible to climate change have experienced 2.7 climate-related natural disasters per year in the last 10 years.

The debt watcher said these events weaken economic activity, usually temporarily although in some cases sharply, and damage critical infrastructure.