Managing the business risks and opportunities （管理业务风险和机遇）.pdf

Managing the business risks and opportunities of a changing climate A primer for executives on adaptation to climate change Climate change is a business issue. Firms’ reputations, legal responsibilities, regulatory obligations, financial reporting, operations and supply chains can be affected. Global and local changes in temperature, the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions and the availability of water can have a direct bearing on firms’ risk profiles and, in some cases, strategic positioning. Recent experience with extreme weather highlights our economic exposure to these changes: in 2010, 950 natural catastrophes caused global losses totaling US$130 billion U.S., of which US$37 billion 1 was insured. As the effects of climate change play out globally, demand for products and services to manage climate risks will also rise.2 Despite these striking prospects and figures, the business case for proactive adaptation is complicated by uncertainty about the magnitude of impacts and the time horizons involved. Further, changes are incremental and may be long-term in nature. This makes it tempting to defer adaptation actions – but is this effective risk management? Just as firms readily manage uncertainty from other sources (e.g. financial markets, regulation), they must understand the opportunities and risks presented by a changing climate and position themselves to respond appropriately. Mitigation and Adaptation Companies have a role in both climate change To explore drivers for corporate climate adaptation and learn from mitigation and adaptation. the experiences of leading companies, the National Round Table Mitigation focuses on limiting the speed and scale on the Environment and the Economy (NRT) and the Network for