Climate Risk: Predicting the Unpredictable

Climate Risk: Predicting the Unpredictable

The undeniable impacts and looming threats of rapidly accelerating climate change demand unwavering action. As more countries and businesses declare a climate emergency and commit to achieving net-zero emissions, the call for ‘climate intelligence’ and well-rounded professionals with expertise in climate change science, policy, and management is reaching new heights.

Western University has stepped up to answer this call. Canada’s leading university in sustainability is embracing a new era of climate readiness with a first-of-its-kind graduate diploma: the GDip in Climate Risk Assessment and Opportunity, a collaboration between the Faculties of Engineering, Science and Social Science, along with the prestigious Ivey Business School.

This innovative new program empowers learners to delve deep into their chosen specialization, whether engineering, business, science or social science. Each of these specializations plays an important role in the fight against climate change: the business concentration equips working professionals in a wide range of sectors with decision-making frameworks and tools to identify, assess and mitigate risks in a business context; engineering provides methods to conduct climate risk assessments for infrastructure and building design; science addresses sustainability and the environment using integrated scientific knowledge, and social science addresses climate risk governance and adaptation strategies.

The training includes an integrated perspective showing how all specializations work together in climate risk assessment, adaptation, and mitigation.

Climate change is impacting our daily lives on an unprecedented scale. Losses due to extreme weather, including floods, high winds, hail storms and fire, have been growing at an alarming rate across the globe. A recent report published by the Swiss Re Institute predicted that with the current global warming trajectory, by 2050, the economic losses due to climate change could be up to 10 per cent of the total global economic value.

The uncertainty of future climate change requires consideration of a risk-based approach. Past climate indicators and data no longer represent the risk to our infrastructure, economy, and society at large.

The Climate Risk Assessment and Opportunity graduate diploma is designed to guide learners through this uncertainty to predict the unpredictable. 

The program is driven by Western University’s leading experts in climate risk and climate change. 

“To achieve net zero, companies need experts fluent in climate risk that can design sound net zero plans, from understanding and assessing the impact of climate change in their operations to designing risk management and mitigation solutions that consider all financial tools that are available to them,” said Dr. Elizabeth Webb, Western University professor, and Associate Dean – Graduate, in the Faculty of Science.

“Our program is specifically built to prepare professionals to become the climate risk experts at their companies. We are confident we have designed a credential that will deliver the necessary knowledge and skills to move their company forward in this challenging environment, allow them to design net zero plans, and provide participants with unique, specific knowledge to differentiate themselves in their roles.”

The Climate Risk Assessment and Opportunity graduate diploma will attract recent graduates and working professionals who are looking to develop their skills in an area that is quickly becoming a priority for employers across the globe. 

Enroll in this ground-breaking graduate program in climate risk assessment. Learn more and apply at uwo.ca/climate-risk.