Nature
Authors: Jan Willem Erisman, Guy Brasseur, Philippe Ciais, Nick van Eekeren & Thomas L. Theis
Date: March 2015
Globalization is changing the nature of risk. Natural and social systems — from climate to energy, food, water and economies — are tightly coupled. Abrupt changes in one have a domino effect on others. Floods in Thailand in 2010, for example, led to a global shortage of computer hard disks as a result of factories closing, as well as more than US$330 million in damage and around 250 deaths.
The exposure of people and assets to risks is increasing worldwide. From 1980 to 2012, annual economic losses from environmental disasters rose more than sevenfold, from about $20 billion to $150 billion a year…
Learn more: Read more