Latest news with #climateAdaptation
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Over 75 per cent of households likely to face extreme weather in next decade: World Bank Report
New Delhi: More than 60 per cent of households and firms have experienced extreme weather in the last five years, and over 75 per cent are expected to face it in the next decade, a new report by the World Bank has revealed. In a new report titled 'From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia,' the World Bank has warned that South Asia is facing a sharp rise in extreme weather. Nearly 90 per cent of the population is expected to be exposed to intense heat by 2030, and more than one in five people is at risk of severe flooding. It said that much of the adaptation effort needs to come from the private sector, as public budgets are under pressure. A new World Bank report has outlined policy reforms that would help households and firms adapt to increasingly frequent and damaging weather events. In a press release, the World Bank stated, "Released today, From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia, finds that awareness of climate risk is high. More than 60 per cent of households and firms have experienced extreme weather in the last five years, and more than 75 per cent expect it for the next decade. Many households and businesses are already taking steps to adapt to climate risks." "Around 80 per cent of households and 63 per cent of firms have taken some measures to adapt. However, most of these measures are basic, such as raising house foundations or installing fans. More advanced options, like using climate-resilient seeds or relocating from high-risk areas, remain less common," it added. According to the report, market barriers and income constraints are holding back stronger adaptation. Households with more education or access to formal finance are more likely to adopt advanced strategies. In addition, better-managed companies with fewer regulatory barriers tend to be more adaptive and removing these barriers would allow more effective adaptation by households and firms. World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia, Franziska Ohnsorge, said, "Private sector adaptation could reduce one third of the region's projected climate damage, but this requires governments to strengthen enabling environments." "Adaptation is most effective when markets function well and when essential services like transport, water, healthcare, and digital connectivity are widely accessible," Ohnsorge added. The report called for targeted adaptation efforts and broader development measures that also build climate resilience. It noted that governments have a critical role to play, even with limited fiscal space. According to the report, the government can expand access to localised climate information, promote weather-indexed insurance, and support the use of resilient technologies such as energy-efficient cooling systems. World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser, said, "The urgency is growing. People and firms are already adapting, but they are doing so with limited tools and few resources." "Governments must act quickly to remove the barriers that prevent more effective adaptation. This includes removing distortions in land and labour markets, expanding access to finance and investing in public infrastructure to support people and businesses as they respond to climate risks," he added. The report noted that cities like Ahmedabad are leading with heat action plans to protect urban populations from rising temperatures. These plans demonstrate how targeted investments and effective institutions can successfully bolster local adaptation. The report called for policy action guided by three core principles - implementing a comprehensive package of adaptation measures, prioritising solutions that support both development and climate resilience and aligning adaptation strategies with long-term development goals to ensure lasting progress. In the release, World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia, Franziska Ohnsorge, said, "Private sector adaptation could reduce one third of the region's projected climate damage, but this requires governments to strengthen enabling environments."
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How do tariffs Impact climate adaptation
Recently, Jefferies, a big investment bank, invited me to give a webinar on tariffs and rising trade protectionism to their clients working on sustainability. What became clear from that webinar is that there is a real curiosity about how regulatory measures such as tariffs shape our ability to adapt to a warming world. The curiosity is timely as the recent months of international trade have been unlike anything the world has seen before. To the extent that Richard Baldwin, a famous trade economist who has been studying and publishing on international trade for several decades, in a recent LinkedIn post questioned why Trump is negotiating tariffs with himself—in public. This line may seem funny initially, but one cannot ignore the point: the US introduced tariffs with several countries and then brought them down or put them on hold a few weeks after they were announced. One thing that is being impacted by this tariff drama, however, is our efforts to adapt to a warming world. Climate adaptation is a term scientists use to reduce climate risk and vulnerability, mainly by adjusting existing systems. A related term is climate-resilient development, which integrates adaptation measures and enabling conditions, such as governance, finance, capacity building, and decision-making processes. Adaptation and climate-resilient development are the foundations of our coping strategies for a warming world. Tariffs adversely impact climate adaptation by creating higher challenges. Estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that scenarios of an increase in protectionism lead to emissions that are at least three times higher than in a sustainability-focused scenario. Emissions are higher because such protectionism slows the pace of the transformations needed to address a future climate crisis. Let's examine what these transformations involve and how they can be impacted. Adaptation finance is already underfunded, with estimates showing a gap of $215 to $387 billion by 2030. The estimates are from the UN Adaptation Gap Report calculated based on submissions made by countries in their national adaptation plans and modeled adaptation costs. The highest financial needs are in agriculture, water, and infrastructure. In terms of regions, many low-income countries are particularly vulnerable, but developing countries overall have a larger adaptation finance gap. The gap for the former, i.e., low-income countries, is narrowing as public finance is beginning to prioritize them, according to the report. With the increase in tariffs, and as many developed countries prioritize their national interests by retaliating against US tariffs, the indirect effects could further limit available funding for adaptation—both national and international funds—to vulnerable sectors and regions under public finance. Private finance is also not at the level required. Only 1 in 3 companies have disclosed plans to adjust to the physical impacts of climate change. According to a recent S& P analysis of 1,200 most prominent companies, projected cumulative costs from climate exposure through 2050 could be as much as 74% of their total revenue—or 31% of the total market capitalization of these companies in 2024. These costs are driven by physical climate risks such as extreme heat, water stress, and drought. Among the sectors that have made slower progress are healthcare companies and communication services. This slow progress is concerning as the adaptation needs of these sectors are essential. For instance, hospitals in coastal areas may need to adapt to rising sea levels, and communication services that rely on physical infrastructure may need to adapt to rising temperatures. Investments in climate adaptation must increase to cope with the rising costs of worsening climate hazards. However, with increase in retaliatory tariffs as companies go into survival mode to maintain stable margins amid the tariff tug-of-war, everything else can expect to take a back seat. Experts are already expressing this uncertainty, as highlighted in a recent report by Quantum Commodity Intelligence. Increasing tariffs can divert attention from inherent vulnerabilities in our systems. One area where this becomes evident is in the soy markets. Some news outlets have already reported that one of the first supply chains to feel the impact of rising tariffs was the soybean supply chain between China, the United States, and Brazil. Due to uncertainty in trade with the US, Brazil's share of soybeans supplied to China has increased over the years. To understand that better, it is helpful to look into some numbers. China's soybean imports account for about 62% of global soybean imports. The US is among the key suppliers to the Chinese soy market. However, with the uncertainty around retaliatory tariffs, this status is changing. In 2000, Brazil's share of the Chinese soybean market was 20% compared to the US at about 50%. Today, Brazil accounts for 71% of China's soy imports, while the US has dropped to 21%. The numbers speak volumes on how tariffs are rerouting soft commodity supply chains. These trade shifts are causing environmental degradation. Data indicates that deforestation in Brazil's Pampas biome increased following the 2018 US-China trade war, one reason for that was China's growing demand for soy. Traceability in the soy imported from Brazil is already challenging, so there are limited means to know whether or not the soy is coming from deforested regions. According to the Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index of the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network that raises awareness of the material risks and opportunities in the global food sector, disclosures on deforestation by some of the biggest Chinese companies are already low 75 % of the Chinese companies in the above Index—lack a deforestation-free target for soy. Deforestation not only releases the carbon stored in trees into the atmosphere but also creates challenges for adaptation by increasing the incidence of droughts, making it more difficult for local communities to cope with rising temperatures. For example, throughout the Amazon, 69% of municipalities have been recording drought rates even more intense than those of 2023—a 56% increase over the same period last year. There were also reports that 209 pink and grey river dolphins were found dead in Lake Tefé, in Amazonas state, mainly due to the overheating of the waters. Tariffs divert attention from the transformations needed to address climate and nature impacts. It's vital that our decision-makers—in both private and public sectors—do not let the tariff drama come in the way of long-term progress needed for adapt to a warming planet
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Green Economy: Don't Leave Your Money Behind
Circular economy concept. Business and environment sustainable. Climate changing problem solving goals. Putting flat wooden cube with sustainability and pollution sources icons with smart background. getty Last month, I wrote about how Wall Street is quietly preparing for a 3°C world. Now JP Morgan is getting their clients (and supporting ecosystems) ready for a new financial normal: climate adaptation as an investment priority. The financial sector has identified its climate growth strategy. While political debates stall, capital is already flowing to where the opportunity lies. The green economy now accounts for $7.9 trillion (8.6% of global stock markets), with climate adaptation making up a growing share, according to recent LSEG research. The question isn't whether to invest in climate resilience; it's how quickly companies can position themselves to capture this value. However, there's a critical gap forming; the market intelligence driving these investment decisions isn't effectively reaching corporate boardroom discussions. Boards can move fast when their trusted financial advisors put the right signals in front of them, like: Despite these compelling financial signals however, corporate climate conversations are still misaligned with market realities. The problem is a critical bottleneck: macro-level financial insights aren't effectively translating into micro-level corporate decision-making. When big consultancies and global bodies are signaling massive ROI potential, and China is rapidly scaling adaptation infrastructure, why aren't these insights driving boardroom strategies across corporate America? The disconnect is clear, and it is costly. The financial risk of doing nothing is rising fast. If wildfires in California and flooding in Valencia aren't enough to drive systems change on humanitarian grounds, then let's call extreme weather what it is in business terms: disruption, downtime, margin erosion. This recognition is spreading globally. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the world's forum for banking regulators, recently agreed to intensify efforts to better understand financial risks posed by climate change, prioritizing the financial implications of extreme weather events. They're also developing a voluntary disclosure framework on climate-related financial risks that will influence financial institutions worldwide. One of the biggest obstacles is visibility. Many companies lack the granular, localized data they need to make confident decisions. Without understanding where their supply chains, assets, or customers are vulnerable, they default to a wait-and-see approach. The data bottleneck syndrome manifests in several ways: As a result, the halls of corporate America aren't having the best data-based conversations about climate adaptation, even as the financial case grows stronger by the day. Yet certain sectors are moving ahead. According to LSEG data, awareness of climate adaptation is particularly strong in sectors such as real estate, utilities, and basic materials, where more than half of all listed firms are citing adaptation measures in their corporate disclosures. These industries are leading the way in translating climate risk into business strategy. Closing these data gaps is the first step to proactive, profitable action. This means going beyond isolated risk models or annual disclosures. Businesses need connected, real-time insights that link physical climate risks to financial performance, asset health, and supplier resilience. Here's my view on how to bridge the divide between macro financial signals and effective corporate action: Questions we are asking in our leadership meetings: The market is moving forward. It's the relevant data, not sustainability, that risks getting left behind. To learn more, tune in to Sapphire virtual sessions on Sustainability and Finance & Spend Management.
Bloomberg
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
A Seaside California Town's Plan to Move Highway Away Eroding Coast
In Carlsbad, California, coastal erosion threatens to swallow the city's iconic oceanside highway. But unlike many other seaside communities, Carlsbad might just have the time, space and resources to get ahead of the problem. The city is taking a 'retreat now' strategy with a proposal to move a vulnerable one-mile stretch segment of Carlsbad Boulevard inland. The city could be a model for climate adaptation, but officials still face financial and political hurdles, contributor Daniel C. Vock writes. Today on CityLab: As Coastline Erodes, One California City Considers 'Retreat Now'
