Climate crisis requires urgent global action on mitigation and adaptation

As the impacts of climate change hit harder, a new realism is dawning about our changed circumstances. Increasingly, the world is recognising that climate change isn’t just a future problem from which we must protect our children. It is a problem from which we must protect ourselves today.According to the World Economic Forum, we need to fight climate change by cutting our emissions to fight further increases in warming and protecting ourselves from climate change’s increasing effects.Adaptation and mitigation should be pursued, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, "with equal force and urgency.” Over 1C of warming has already happened, and warming over 1.5C is very likely. We are nowhere near ready for the impacts this will bring.Recently, the COP27 launched the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda – the first ever comprehensive global action plan rallying governments and non-state actors behind 30 adaptation goals for a resilient world by 2030.This framework signals a growing expectation that business, alongside other actors (countries, cities, investors, civil society), take action to adapt to the acute hazards now facing us.Adaptation is a crucial part of the fight against climate change. It is necessary to protect people around the world from the climate change that’s already in process, and it also brings huge opportunities to help the nearly 8bn people transition to a more sustainable and secure way of life.For example, transitioning to climate-resilient farming practices could increase yields by 17% without increasing land use, WEF points out as it outlined three key actions business can take to help tackle climate change.Adaptation will spur the expansion of industries, such as water conservation, heat-resistant infrastructure, and drought-resistant agricultures, supporting prosperity and security for billions of people as we build a climate-resilient world.Adaptation is good for business. It can help companies expand their business footprint, achieve efficiency gains, innovate for the future, and enhance long-term sustainability. In addition, business adaptation is good for the society of which business is an inseparable part. Business thrives when society thrives.Smart companies are acting now to adapt to a climate that is changing before our eyes. The more energetically business dedicates itself to adaptation, the more society as a whole is helped to adapt and benefit.Some business leaders view adaptation as a corporate social responsibility initiative rather than a business imperative as part of the overall execution strategy and risk management. We encourage these executives to recognise that all companies can be affected by climate change. Even business leaders who may believe their companies have little exposure to climate change have no reason for complacency.The effort of adaptation is worth it. Globally, $1.8tn of investment into adaptation efforts could generate $7.1tn in total net benefits by 2030.Insurers reckon that a dollar spent on adaptation – strengthening flood and wind defences, for example – saves five in reconstruction. Best of all, of course, proactive adaptation opens up opportunities to build a more sustainable world.Clearly, the climate crisis requires urgent global action on mitigation and adaptation.