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Nearly a billion people facing high exposure to climate change effects, Global Peace Index finds, ABC, 

Nearly a billion people are facing climate change hazards globally, with the Asia-Pacific region housing twice as many people living in areas with high exposure than all other regions combined, a new report has revealed.

In the annual Global Peace Index released on Wednesday, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said an estimated 971 million people — including more than 2.4 million Australians — live in areas with high or very high exposure to climate hazards including cyclones, floods, bushfires, desertification and rising sea levels.

The top nine countries facing the highest risk of climate hazards were all Asian nations with the Philippines topping the list, followed by Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China.

IEP founder and executive chairman Steve Killelea told the ABC that many of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region also have weaker coping capacities for natural disasters.

Pacific Islands are going to be massively impacted by rising sea levels,” Mr Killelea said, adding that they would be the first affected because of their proximity to the equator.

In Australia, the main risks come from hurricanes and cyclones in the north, rising sea levels in the south and east, as well as drought and desertification which is already affecting thousands of farmers, he said.

Climate hazards exacerbate conflict and migration

The report — which ranks 163 countries by measuring internal safety and security, militarisation and ongoing conflict — included climate change risks for the first time this year to evaluate links between climate hazards and violence.

It found climate pressures can adversely impact resource availability and affect population dynamics, which can impact socioeconomic and political stability. ……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-12/climate-change-hazards-global-peace-index-report/11198144