Government Dismisses External Climate Risk Rankings for Policymaking
The Global Climate Risk Index ranks countries based on the human and economic toll of extreme weather events.
By : PTI
Update: 2025-12-11 10:40 GMT
New Delhi: The government on Thursday told Parliament that although India ranks ninth on the Global Climate Risk Index, it "does not recognise any external ranking as a basis for domestic policy formulation".
The Global Climate Risk Index ranks countries based on the human and economic toll of extreme weather events.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said estimates of economic losses from extreme weather vary widely and that "isolating the climate component of total losses remains a challenge".
According to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 published by environment think tank Germanwatch at COP30 in Brazil's Belem, India ranked ninth globally among countries most impacted by climate disasters over the past three decades, with nearly 430 extreme weather events killing more than 80,000 people.
The ministry said India addresses the impact of such events through the National Policy on Disaster Management, which aims to build a "safe and disaster resilient India" with a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster oriented and technology-driven strategy.
The policy covers institutional, legal and financial arrangements, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery.
On whether specific funds or schemes exist for states identified as most vulnerable under the Climate Vulnerability Assessment conducted by the Department of Science and Technology, the minister said India's climate action is guided by the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
All 34 states and Union territories have prepared their State Action Plans on Climate Change aligned with the NAPCC and their implementation is the responsibility of the respective governments.