Ideas
Climate

National Climate Assessment shows why companies need to build climate resilience

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

General National Climate Assessment shows why companies need to build climate resilience The US government’s publication last week of its latest National Climate Assessment highlighted the fact that climate change is not just a problem that we are going to have to deal with in future – it is something that is affecting us all today and its impacts are increasingly obvious. The report, the result of four years of study by hundreds of experts and described by the NOAA as “the most comprehensive and authoritative scientific report ever generated about climate changes that are happening now in the US and further changes that we can expect to see throughout this century”, breaks with previous reports on climate change that focused on convincing sceptical audiences that climate change is both real and driven by human activity. The third NCA recognizes that the debate is over. It is a very robust, credible and all-encompassing document that is clearly reflective of the latest climate science. It really documents and articulates what we’ve seen in the marketplace over the last few years, and, given its overview, highlight and full report format, has the potential to be a very powerful tool to drive internal engagement. The report captures the way leaders have been evolving their approach to the changing climate from mitigation to adaptation to resilience. While mitigation will remain a critical element of leadership strategies we see resilience as the natural progression of quality programs. Resilience is about being proactive – taking a scan of your operations and products across the entire life cycle; identifying the scope of your key risks and opportunities and then scaling successful practices to address these across your organization. The study also captures what many companies have already been responding to for years, even if they did not realize that climate change was the cause. For example, corporations are now having to build new facilities that can cope with once-in-200 rather than 100 year storms. Their just-in-time supply chains are being affected by climate-related political instability and physical disruptions from events such as Superstorm Sandy, the 2010 floods in Thailand or droughts in the Midwest and California. The NCA presents a range of different climate scenarios, saying that temperatures will rise by between 3ºF (if we dramatically cut emissions) and up to 10ºF (if we keep on our current path) from 1900 to 2100 and it concludes that “climate change is affecting the American people now, and … choices we make will affect our future and that of future generations”. These choices will require businesses to be much more aware of their own impacts and the impacts of their supply chains – not just in terms of CO2 emissions but also in terms of other resources such as water. They will also need to be aware of where and how they could be vulnerable to climate risks, both physical and regulatory. Change is here, and to be successful businesses will need to act accordingly. For more information about PE INTERNATIONAL and how it can help your business to recognize climate risks and deal with them, please contact Jim Fava. DanielPermalinkTrackback link Tags: national climate assessment, usa, noaa, us government, climate change