By: Arthur W. Rolle
What is Climate Change? Climate Change according to the IPCC is any change in climate over time whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. It is considered by many scientists to be the most serious threat facing the world today. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activity is the main driver of this warming.
Definitions Climate mitigation any action taken to permanently eliminate or reduce the longterm risk and hazards of climate change to human life, property.
Climate adaptation refers to the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.
(Global Greenhouse Warming)
Other Definitions ď‚— Climate neutrality ď‚— living in a way which produces no net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This should be achieved by reducing your own GHG emissions as much as possible and using carbon offsets to neutralize the remaining emissions.
(Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality)
Other Definitions Carbon neutral It is a term used to describe the practice of carbon offsetting, by paying others to remove or sequester 100% of the carbon dioxide emitted from the atmosphere– for example by planting trees – or by funding 'carbon projects' that should lead to the prevention of future greenhouse gas emissions, or by buying carbon credits to remove them through carbon trading. These practices are often used in parallel, together with energy conservation measures to minimize energy use.
Other definitions Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide. Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières (ETAP 2007)
Other definitions ď‚— Carbon offsetting ď‚— the use of carbon credits to enable businesses to
compensate for their emissions, meet their carbon reduction goals and support the move to a low carbon economy. Carbon offsetting works by purchasing carbon credits which are sold in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tonnes CO 2e). Projects which sell carbon credits include wind farms which displace fossil fuel, forest protection from illegal logging, methane capture from landfill gas and agriculture, reforestation for smallhold farmers
Overview of the Paris Outcomes Legally binding agreement of limiting global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius, while urging efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees; 2. A new nationally determined contribution must be communicated every five years; 3. Pledges of $100 billion per year, through the Green Climate Fund, will predominantly be provided for technology demonstration and capacity building within developing countries; 4. Addresses adaptation by requiring all parties, “as appropriate,� to plan and implement adaptation efforts; 1.
Overview of the Paris Outcomes 5. The explicit mention of the role of risk insurance
facilities, climate risk pooling and other insurance solutions laid out in Article 8 of the Paris agreement. (eg. by offering insurance coverage tailored to disasters and refusing to insure parts of cities not being developed with an eye toward mitigating the effect of natural disasters, which could encourage revised building codes and discourage risky development; 6. Encouraged public-private sector partnership
Why should business take actions on Climate Change?
Business decisions are driven by: government policy, changes in consumer demand and technology innovation
National adaptation strategies will be most successful if they bring together partners from government (national and local), civil society organizations, and the private sector. Stakeholder engagement processes therefore need to be wide ranging and include both large and small business.
New Investment Opportunities (renewable energy assets-solar, wind and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)) The Government of The Bahamas has committed to reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a minimum of 30% by 2030 and require help of the private sector
PHYSICAL RISKS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Global temperature anomaly for 2015 compared to the 1951-1980 average. Earth’s temperature is clearly more than 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1850-1900 average, and halfway to world leaders' climate target of limiting global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above average.
Studies undertaken have shown that extreme high temperatures are increasing more quickly, for example, in January at a rate of 0 6.8 F per hundred years. We are now experiencing fewer cold days and nights, and warmer and more frequent hot days and nights.
increased frequency of flash floods.
Other climate-related risks faced by Businesses Regulation risks are of two types and are considered as
powerful tools of change. Traditional legislation includes permits and energy-
efficiency requirements for products and processes Market-based regulation includes carbon taxes, emissions-trading schemes and fuel tariffs.
Businesses and sectors that fail to adjust to a changing
business environment by the creation of new laws and regulations face competitive disadvantages.
Other climate-related risks faced by Businesses (cont’d) Reputation is also at stake.
Over time, the public, stakeholders and consumers will make businesses pay more attention to the environment and impacts of climate change. Increased legislations undoubtedly lead to an increased risk of litigation. Businesses perceived as heavy emitters will be targeted possible increased scrutiny of greenhouse-gas disclosure.
Types of Businesses that are most at risk for climate change Businesses dependent on climate or weather-sensitive resources Agriculture, forestry, agro-forestry, fishing, and tourism sectors in The Bahamas are already experiencing impacts from increased climate variability. Businesses that make long-term investments and operate long-life assets These include utilities such as energy or transport, industrial facilities, and ports with a long operational life. Future climate change impacts pose risks to the efficiency and service delivery of these systems and will challenge their robustnessand resilience.
Types of Businesses that are most at risk for climate change Businesses that are labor intensive and highly
dependent on local workers Local climatic disruptions may affect worker’s abilities to
work or even to stay resident in a particular location.
Small, medium, and microenterprises The impact of a natural hazard can put these types of enterprises out of business since they do not have the capacity or resources to cope with and recover from major business disruptions. The insurance industry
What Role can Businesses play? 1.
Partnerships on risk mitigation and financing through innovative insurance solutions ď‚— Pre-event financing solutions such as coupon insurance for farmers,
localized flooding, and mitigate the risks of low rainfall.
2.
Partnerships to reduce risks from natural disasters ď‚— For companies operating in affected regions, there is a clear need to
look at exposure to risk and to identify appropriate ways of reducing this exposure through investments in hazard monitoring, risk mitigation, and business continuity planning. Insurance companies can offer insurance coverage tailored to disasters and refuse to insure parts of cities not being developed with an eye toward mitigating the effect of natural disasters, which could encourage revised building codes and discourage risky development. Rating Agency Standard & Poor's recently published a report warning that a country's disaster preparedness could be linked to its credit rating going forward.
What Role can Businesses play? 3. Further promote risks awareness education 4. Public-private partnerships to safeguard critical infrastructure ď‚— Critical infrastructures are those infrastructures that would produce serious impacts on social and economic well-being and national security if they were disrupted or destroyed, eg. Water and Electricity 5. Implement a Carbon strategy ď‚— To measure, monitor and reduce the footprint (e.g. the company may care for trees and other plants lining the motorway, which it estimates to absorb more carbon dioxide than the emissions of the company); support children and youths in honoring their pledge made at the Rio+20 Summit to participate in the planting of 100 million trees by 2017
What Role can Businesses play? 6. Strive to become more resource efficient (ecoefficiency) ď‚— through the lesser use of energy, material, and water, more recycling, and elimination of hazardous emissions or byproducts. 7. Advocate for a carbon tax ď‚— The purpose of a carbon tax is to create an incentive to increase the efficiency of fuel use, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuel and the associated contribution to climate change; help government to develop feed-in tariffs support schemes 8. Partnership to design a tourism crisis communication Insurance
Climate change will only be addressed if individuals, businesses and government organizations all take responsible steps to REDUCE our CO2 emissions as much as possible
IS IT NOT TIME TO MAKE CLIMATE CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS?
I THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!!