Assessing climate risks and economic impacts on ports: a dual method approach

This study presents a systematic approach to assessing the impacts of climate change on ports. First, it reviews the literature on port climate risk assessments and analyses disaster data from the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT). Second, based on this review, the study proposes the development of the Global Climate Risk Index for Ports (GCRIP), which integrates historical climate disaster data with network-based vulnerability indicators to create a standardised tool for assessing port climate risks. In this study, GCRIP is operationalised for container ports, as they play a critical role in global container supply chains and exhibit high network centrality and operational sensitivity to climate disruptions. While the index framework is conceptually extendable to other port types, its empirical application here focuses solely on container ports. Third, the study investigates the potential future economic impacts of seven specific climate threats: damaging cyclones, sea-level rise, warming trends/extreme temperatures/drought, heavy precipitation, snow/frost cover, and seasonal changes in fog events and wind speed and direction. It is based on container ports and employs a detailed, questionnaire-based approach. The findings provide insights for climate adaptation and mitigation strategies by identifying critical components of container port operations and analysing relevant environmental drivers and climate adaptation considerations.