Climate change: time to adapt

Climate change dominates the 2022 Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum.

Also this month McKinsey release a new report on achieving net zero.

The cost is the equivalent of half of all corporate profits for decades. Is it likely that companies are up for that investment?

What about governments. What is the evidence?

The UK government has increased total annual grants to the Environment Agency from £880m to over £1bn in the last two years. The funding for environmental protection work has declined from around £170m in 2009/10 to £94m last year. In comparison, in 2019, the chancellor announced plans for a £27bn five-year budget for roads.

In April last year, a report by the Swiss Re Institute in April 2021 rightly identified the major economic impact of climate change as physical risk. Everything has been hit – offices, factories, warehouses, homes, roads, shops, schools, hospitals and trainlines.

What conclusions should we reach?

It’s difficult to imagine a future where we now successfully have the political or corporate will to achieve limits to global warming of only 1.5 degrees.

No country will be exempt from the increased frequency and intensity of heavy rain, flooding, heat waves and wildfires.

In this context, cities and local communities will need to step into the breach to save themselves. My suggestion is that supporting this kind of community resilience now needs to be a strategic pillar of long-term strategy for any organisation committed to climate action.

To discuss sustainability strategy and what your organisation can do to protect your colleagues, communities and profitability from the impacts of climate change, drop me a line at John.Drummond@how-on-earth.co.uk