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Standard & Poor's is warning that climate change is going to put downward pressure on sovereign ratings, and is already ranking countries based on their exposure to the risks.

Emerging markets are among the most vulnerable, with Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Senegal at the bottom of the ranking; developed markets are among the least vulnerable, with Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria at the top. Canada is ranked No. 13 among 116 countries.

S&P assembled the list using three variables: the share of the population living in low-altitude coastal areas; reliance upon agricultural production in gross domestic product; and susceptibility to the adverse effects of climate change (using the Notre Dame University Global Adaptation Index).

"So far, Standard & Poor's has not revised the rating of a sovereign as a consequence of an extreme weather event," S&P said in a release. "We have taken a view that the size of devastation, while large in absolute terms, has not been sufficient to impact a rating overall. However, assuming that extreme weather events are on the rise in terms of frequency and destruction, how this trend could feed through to our ratings on sovereign states bears consideration."

The report follows a warning from scientists earlier this week that an Antarctic ice sheet is melting, and the process appears to be unstoppable – threatening to raise water levels eventually by 10 feet or more.

If they're right, S&P may have to adapt their vulnerability index, giving more weight to coastal cities.

Editor's note: Standard & Poor's released a note Friday stating that their initial report contained errors. In this article, Canada and Cambodia's rankings have been corrected.

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