A new report from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a nonprofit that encourages companies to report how climate change might affect them, shows that 215 of the world’s largest companies, including Apple, JPMorgan and Chase, see climate change as a threat that might cost their businesses $1 trillion dollars within the next five years.
While this latest report focuses on the biggest companies, it’s clear that climate change is increasingly becoming a part of business projections for everyone, regardless of the size of the company or sector, as flooding and rising sea levels threaten distribution centers and warehouses.
Along with the costs, there are also opportunities. The big companies see climate change as a $2.1 trillion opportunity in the way of sales of energy-efficient vehicles and other clean products.
- Bruno Sarda, president of CDP North America, believes investors need to be on the lookout for future complications, examine the data, and start demanding accountability from companies, according to Sarda.
- While government policies can play a major role in stabilizing markets by putting prices on carbon, water, or pollution, Sarda says investors and companies can’t “wait for government-sponsored regulations.”
- Karma Column: Real Estate Gets Serious About Climate Risk
