When it comes to climate change, there are a multitude of drivers for corporate action, and many indicate the need for more of a "sprint" than a "jog." Take, for example, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, published in 2005 by 1,300 scientists from 95 countries. This is, essentially, the IPCC report for ecosystems. The report concluded that 60-70 percent of the earth's life support systems, or "regulating services," are being degraded faster than they can recover. If this is the planetary report card, it's not one you'd want to bring home to your parents.
In many instances, services currently provided free-of-charge by natural systems would need to be replaced with human or technological substitutes, often at significant or prohibitive cost. What does this mean for business? Higher costs of raw materials like grains, fuel, fiber, clean water, etc.
At the same time, corporate practitioners must factor in the increasingly unpredictable physical risks to their operations, distribution channels, supply chains and consumer markets due to climate change-induced natural disasters and unseasonable weather. The reinsurance industry, the proverbial canaries in the climate coal mine, are finally crying "Uncle" (see Lloyd's of London "Adapt or Bust" report (pdf)) after experiencing the highest losses since records began. What does this mean for business? Significant increases in insurance rates and loss of coverage in some regions.
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