COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Ranked 13th, Jamaica tops the list of five Caribbean countries, all of them parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, that are at highest risk of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and heatwaves, based on 2008 data.

This is according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2010, released Tuesday by Germanwatch, a non-governmental organisation that looks at the politics and economics of the developed world, and the implications for developing countries.

Jamaica is followed closely by Haiti which is ranked 15th, the Dominican Republic which is ranked 53rd, Antigua and Barbuda that is ranked 60th and The Bahamas which is ranked at 118 of 120 countries.

Countries were ranked on the basis of a number of factors, notably the death toll associated with disasters, the number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the risk of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, losses to purchasing power parity (the loss in the difference between the Jamaican dollar and the US dollar), and gross domestic product (GDP) losses.

Jamaica experienced a death toll of 13, accounting for 0.48 deaths per 100,000 in the population, compared to Haiti where 316 people lost their lives, accounting for 0.44 deaths per 100,000 people in the population. In the Dominican Republic, 15 people lost their lives in disasters last year, accounting for some 0.17 people per 100,000 in the population. Antigua and Barbuda saw no deaths as a result of extreme weather and neither did The Bahamas.

Jamaica, in the interim, lost more than US$190-million in purchasing power parity and experienced a 0.79 per cent blow to its GDP. Haiti experienced a US$54-million loss to its purchasing power parity and a 0.04 per cent loss to its GDP. The Dominican Republic experienced a US$65-million loss in its purchasing power parity while its GDP was unaffected.

Antigua and Barbuda saw a US$45.85-million loss to its purchasing power parity and a decline in gross domestic product by 2.94 per cent. The Bahamas, on the other hand, experienced little or no decline in its purchasing power parity and saw no loss in its GDP due to disasters.

While noting that the findings of the study are based on “past data” and therefore “not a linear projection of future climate impacts”, Germanwatch said the report nonetheless emphasised the need for careful attention to adaptation to climate change.

“The Climate Risk Index indicates a level of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events, which countries should see as a warning signal to prepare for more severe events in the future, the report noted.

“Through an ambitious adaptation action framework, the Copenhagen climate summit can result in a real difference for particularly vulnerable developing countries. A key role therefore needs to be played by scaled-up financial support provided by developed countries,” the document added.

The call comes as governments from the developing world, which scientists say stand to be worse affected by a changing climate, barter with developed countries to improve their capacity to deal with extreme weather events through the transfer of technology and increased funding. Developing countries are asking, too, for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions which is fuelling the warming of the earth and resulting in climate change. The changing climate, in turn, is threatening to wipe out entire countries such as Tuvalu, in addition to people’s livelihoods.

Jamaica tops the list of five Caribbean countries that are at highest risk of extreme weather events.