The climate and ocean risk vulnerability index

CORVI is an analytical tool designed to help governments, businesses, and financial institutions, assess climate risks in coastal cities and pinpoint areas of action to adapt to current and future risks.

As the risks from climate change continue to grow, business leaders, financial institutions, and government policymakers need tools that can help them incorporate climate risk and its uncertainties into future planning decisions. Climate change is accelerating in pace and scale and so to are the devastating consequences to the businesses and people living in coastal cities. Increased drought, heat, sea-level rise, storm intensity, and flooding, when coupled with social and economic factors, intensifies the risk of food, economic, and environmental insecurity. The result is that decision-makers are being forced to adapt now to the uncertain future impacts of climate change.

By identifying key risk areas, CORVI enables government policymakers, public and private investors, and the insurance industry to better understand the linkages and drive funding into areas of greatest concern. The first two city risk profiles in Castries and Kingston demonstrate how the CORVI tool can aid decision-makers by providing evidence to effectively prioritize investment for risk reduction in coastal cities. In 2020, CORVI will expand to cities in East Africa and the Pacific region and build new regional datasets. The CORVI project will conduct detailed city assessments in Mombasa, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as well as in cities in Bangladesh, Fiji, and the Philippines. As more cities are added to the CORVI matrix, a comparative body of city-level data will emerge, providing greater insights into the risks these cities face. Decision-makers need to act now in the face of climate uncertainty. With this data and information, the CORVI tool is designed to help coastal cities build resilience against climate fragility risks before it is too late.