New Delhi, Transport assets worth approximately USD 575 billion in South Asia, including USD 400 billion in India, are exposed to climate hazards and rapid deployment of resilience measures needed to prevent risk to the sector which contributes significantly to the region's GDP, according to a report. The South Asian region faces cascading economic losses due to climate risks, with disruptions in transport having cascading effects on key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and services among others, as per the report jointly published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

With the frequency and severity of climate events in South Asia escalating sharply in recent years, the cost of inaction in South Asia is staggering and without strategic interventions, climate risks could derail decades of development progress, the report titled 'Transport Infrastructure Reimagined: Forging Resilient Connections ' An Integrated Framework to Unlocking Resilience Dividends for South Asia' said.

"With USD 400 billion worth of transport assets in India being severely exposed to the perils of disaster and climate change, rapid deployment of resilience measures is a must; innovation has a major role to play," Vineet Vijayavargia, Managing Director and Partner at BCG said in a statement.

According to the report, in South Asia transport assets worth approximately USD 575 billion are exposed to climate hazards as of 2022, posing risks to a sector that contributes four to eight per cent of the region's GDP.

"These risks extend beyond direct physical damage, as disruptions in transport networks can trigger cascading failures across interconnected economic systems, impacting supply chains, manufacturing schedules, and overall economic output," it added.

"India accounting for 80 per cent of the South Asian region's asset exposure to geo-climatic hazards stands at an opportune moment to avert significant infrastructure losses by adopting an integrated approach to embed resilience across existing and planned projects," said Anirban Mukherjee, Managing Director and Partner at BCG.

CDRI Director General, Amit Prothi said, "The climate challenges facing South Asia are immense, but so are the opportunities. By reimagining transport infrastructure through a resilience lens, we can unlock significant economic, environmental, and societal dividends for the region."