Indicator 13.40 Climate-related economic losses

The indicator measures the economic losses from weather and climate-related events. Weather and climate-related events are defined as meteorological events (storms, avalanches), hydrological events (floods) and climatological events (heatwaves, cold waves, droughts, forest fires) based on the classification by the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to the annual figures, a smoothed time-series based on 30-year averages is presented. In line with the climate normal period as defined by World Meteorological Organisation, these 30 years average figures reflect trends excluding the substantial climate variability on shorter time scales due to natural factors. The indicator is based on data from CATDAT of RiskLayer.

Indicator is used to monitor progress towards SDG 13 on climate action which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’. SDG 13 seeks to implement the commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for achieving a climate neutral world by mid-century to limit global warming to well below 2°C and aiming at 1.5°C (compared to pre-industrial times). It also aims to strengthen countries’ resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related natural hazards and the resulting disasters. This indicator can be considered as similar to the global SDG indicators 1.5.2 and 11.5.2 “Direct disaster economic loss in relation to global GDP” (related to Sendai indicator).

The EU places disaster and climate resilience as a central objective in its humanitarian assistance. The EU Resilience Marker is used in all humanitarian projects to define ways to reduce disaster risks and to strengthen people’s coping capacities to disasters and crises. The Action Plan for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030 includes a strong focus on climate change adaptation, linking it to disaster risk reduction strategies and their coherent implementation in EU partner countries. The new EU Adaptation Strategy urges smarter, faster and more systematic adaptation to fulfil the vision that in 2050, the EU will be a climate-resilient society, fully adapted to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

EU Adaptation Strategy 2021; Policy reference: CLIM039; 8th EAP; Climate losses insurance; Economic losses; Disasters; Natural hazards.