Can the international business community adapt to the risks?
Executive Summary
Climate change is more than an environmental issue; it also is a business issue. Conservatives have long argued that trying to slow the effects of a warming planet would badly damage the economy by raising taxes, increasing regulations and lowering employment. For business leaders, the debate is not academic. If their companies are to survive both competition and climate change, many realize they have to prepare for a future fraught with risk: rising sea levels, catastrophic weather and uncertain supply chains and markets. Many companies also see an opportunity, and they are diversifying into energy-efficient industries, using “smart” microgrid electrical systems at their factories, designing hydrogen-powered cars and building their own lower-carbon cogeneration power plants. Renewable energy is steadily gaining ground, as are “green,” energy-efficient building techniques. Climate change, in other words, is a chance for many businesses to make money. But climate change is producing losers as well. In the end, a question remains: Who will pay for solutions, and how?
Resources
Bibliography
Books
Kohlhaas, Michael, “Ecological Tax Reform in Germany: From Theory to Policy,” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, 2000, http://tinyurl.com/
Weart, Spencer, “The Discovery of Global Warming,” American Institute of Physics, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Articles
“In a bind: Will falling oil prices curb America's shale boom?” The Economist, Dec. 6, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
“Sheikhs v shale,” The Economist, Dec. 6. 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Biello, David, “Everything You Need to Know about the U.S.–China Climate Change Agreement,” Scientific American, Nov. 12, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Chen, Kathy, and Stian Reklev, “China's national carbon market to start in 2016-official,” Reuters, Aug. 31, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Chestney, Nina, and Susanna Twidale, “Reuters Summit – Competition drives climate action, not science – PwC,” Reuters, Oct. 14, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Guo, Jeff, “The old man and the rising sea,” The Washington Post, Dec. 2, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Harish, Alon, “New Law in North Carolina Bans Latest Scientific Predictions of Sea-Level Rise,” ABC News, Aug. 2, 2012, http://tinyurl.com/
Kallgren, Jona, “Germany Has A Coal Problem,” The Associated Press, Nov. 28, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Karnitschnig, Matthew, “Germany's Expensive Gamble on Renewable Energy,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 26, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Kruschwitz, Nina, “Who Says Industry is Awakening to Climate Change Threats?” MIT Sloan Management Review, http://tinyurl.com/
McCurry, Justin, “Japan edges back towards nuclear power with vote to restart reactors,” The Guardian, Oct. 28, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Montgomery, Lori, “In Norfolk, evidence of climate change is in the streets at high tide,” The Washington Post, May 31, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Moskvitch, Katia, “Will Falling Oil Prices Kill Wind and Solar Power?” Scientific American, Jan. 22, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Neslen, Arthur, “Germany moves to legalise fracking,” The Guardian, Feb. 14, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Vidal, John, “UK and Germany break solar power records,” The Guardian, June 23, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Winston, Andrew, “GE Is Avoiding Hard Choices About Ecomagination,” Harvard Business Review, Aug. 1, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Reports and Studies
“Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Inhofe, James M., “The Facts and Science of Climate Change,” Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, no date, http://tinyurl.com/
Orcutt, Mike, “How and Why U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Falling,” MIT Technology Review, May 6, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
The Next Step
Government Measures
Carrington, Damian, “Ban fracking, says former Tory environment secretary Caroline Spelman,” The Guardian (U.K.), Jan. 22, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Fitzgerald, Jay, “State Senate report warns of climate change threats,” The Boston Globe, Jan. 6, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Megerian, Chris, “Lawmakers take step toward fulfilling state climate change goals,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Opportunities
Craze, Matthew, Matthew Winkler and Javiera Quiroga, “Chile Gets Cleaner at a Profit With Pacheco Renewable Push,” Bloomberg Business, March 10, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Monks, Kieron, “Getting rich from climate change? How business can thrive in extreme conditions,” CNN, Nov. 17, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Shea, Rachel Hartigan, “Q&A: How to Make Money From Climate Change,” National Geographic, March 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Sustainability
Gillis, Justin, “Companies Take the Baton in Climate Change Efforts,” The New York Times, Sept. 23, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Srinivas, Siri, “Citigroup to invest $100bn in tackling climate change,” The Guardian (U.K.), Feb. 18, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Threats
Casey, Michael, “Could climate change take oysters off the menu?” CBS News, Feb. 23, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
McCoy, Terrence, “Threatened by climate change, Florida reportedly bans term ‘climate change,’” The Washington Post, March 9, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
Mundy, Alicia, “‘Risky Business’ Report Aims to Frame Climate Change as Economic Issue,” The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/
Organizations
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
2101 Wilson Blvd., #550, Arlington, VA 22201
703-516-4146
http://www.c2es.org
Formerly known as the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit promotes clean energy and environmental stewardship.
The Climate Reality Project
P.O. Box 50803, Washington, DC 20091
info@climatereality.com
http://climaterealityproject.org
Advocacy group dedicated to climate-change-related issues.
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4999
202-546-4400
http://www.heritage.org
Think tank that promotes conservative policies and free enterprise.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1325 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-2065
http://www.noaa.gov/
U.S. agency focused on the world's oceans and atmosphere.
Union of Concerned Scientists
2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138-3780
617-547-5552
http://www.ucsusa.org
Organization of independent scientists and researchers working on energy, food, climate and nuclear issues.
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20585
http://energy.gov
Federal department in charge of researching, establishing and implementing U.S. energy policy.
U.S. Green Building Council
2101 L St., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20037
Within the United States: 1-800-795-1747
Outside the United States: 1-202-742-3792
http://www.usgbc.org
Organization that created the LEED standards of sustainable building design.
DOI: 10.1177/2374556815581842