No Exceptions
A key message from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) findings published earlier this month: climate change is a material issue for everyone. No exceptions. Over half of the population is ‘highly vulnerable’ to the impact of climate change and no inhabited region is immune.
While the news cycle has rightly been dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions and the prices of fossil fuels, the IPCC report quietly documented the impact of climate change on global supply chains and food and water shortages. This report changes everything and may well be the prompt for companies like yours to introduce or re-calibrate climate change within your materiality matrix.
Yet while the report is undoubtedly harrowing, it isn’t defeatist. Its authors stress everyone has a role to play to meet climate change challenges. That means you and your business. Right now.
Help is at hand. On 4th April, the IPCC will publish a new report focused on how we can mitigate climate change, acknowledging that whilst human activities are the source of the problem, we are also the solution.
The report will delve into the role of technologies amongst other carbon capture initiatives in combatting climate change. Whilst carbon sequestering is part of the solution, it’s second to the role of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This was reiterated through action, when the Science Based Targets initiative announced it would no longer accept commitments made by fossil fuel companies.
Whether manufacturer of goods or selling services, identify the links in your supply chain that will bend and break in the face of rising global temperatures. Who can you help? Work with competitors if you have to.
The world has changed and will continue to change. Rising temperatures and the frequency of extreme weather will serve as benchmarks for how well we’re addressing climate change, and don’t discount other knock-on effects.
Think about the potential impact millions of climate refugees could have on your business. Consider how uprooted communities, both domestically and internationally, could change the way you work. This may be something you’ve considered recently given events in Ukraine. Many have been forced to reconsider suppliers or energy provision, or carefully examine political alignment and allegiances.
Think ahead to mitigate and manage future risk from conflict and climate. If we all act now, inevitable climate change impacts can still be dampened.