Washington, DC: The IMF in
collaboration with University of Oxford researchers launched a new online
portal “PortWatch”, a platform to monitor and simulate trade disruptions
due to climate extremes and other shocks. Using satellite-based vessel data
and big data analytics, the platform will help policymakers, analysts, and
other public stakeholders assess the impact of disruptions to maritime
trade. Users can simulate the potential indirect spillover effects of port
disruptions to other countries in the maritime network and global supply
chains.
Key features of the platform include timely indicators on actual and
expected trade disruptions in affected countries; simulation of
international spillover effects from actual and hypothetical disasters; and
climate scenario analysis facilitating the identification of
vulnerabilities within the maritime trade network.
“PortWatch aims to provide actionable, data-driven insights about how
shocks such as extreme weather events and disasters impact trade and supply
chains. The platform’s innovative data sources and visualization tools are
designed to help facilitate international dialogue and inform policy
decisions,”said Bert Kroese, IMF Chief Statistician, Data
Officer, and Director of the Statistics Department.
“Shocks to trade and supply chains can propagate rapidly around the world,
leading to economic disruptions and real impacts for people. Using
PortWatch we can track shipping disruption at ports and in critical
shipping lanes around the world, providing up-to-date information for
decision makers,” said Jim Hall, University of Oxford Professor of Climate
and Environmental Risks.
PortWatch was selected as one of the winners of the 2022
IMF Climate Innovation Challenge, which fosters innovation and collaboration to tackle economic and
financial issues related to climate change. It is a collaborative project
between the IMF and the
Environmental Change Institute
at the University of Oxford. Cutting-edge climate risk analytics from
Oxford University researchers were embedded within the platform.
The platform was developed in collaboration with Environmental Systems
Research Institute (ESRI), the United Nations Global Platform (UNGP), the
World Bank (WB), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has benefitted
from seed funding by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
(SECO).
About the IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries,
working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability,
facilitate international trade, and promote high employment and sustainable
economic growth around the world by offering policy advice, lending, and
building capacity to its members. Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by
and accountable to the 190 countries that make up its near-global
membership.
About the Environmental Change Institute
The Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford was
established in 1991. Its aim is to organise and promote interdisciplinary
research on the nature, causes and impact of environmental change and to
contribute to the development of management strategies for coping with
future environmental change.
Media contacts:
IMF: Huong Lan Vu, Communications Officer (hlanvu@IMF.org)
ECI: Vicki Sperrey, Communications Manager (vicki.sperrey@eci.ox.ac.uk /
news.office@admin.ox.ac.uk
/ +44 (0)7467 457164)
