Tipping Point of Climate Change
It’s official. Global climate change is not our future. It is our present.
It’s happening faster than scientists predicted, according to a new IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report to be released this year in November 2007. Tim Flannery, climate change expert and author of The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, said. “What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that can potentially cause dangerous climate change." He continues, “We are already at great risk of dangerous climate change, that's what these figures say. It's not next year or next decade, it's now."
So, what to do? Adaptation, strategic thinking, and timely action are of the essence. In an era of unknown climate variables, businesses can’t predict all the ways that their operations may be impacted. We can expect, however, disruptions in energy and water supply and distribution. Business organizations that invest in generating their own renewable energy and implement water-saving technology will be ahead of the game. Those companies that produce goods or services with maximum use value in a resource-scarce future will experience high demand. Localized distribution and manufacturing will soon become the least expensive and most efficient business approach.
To accelerate the rate of growth of companies that address climate change effectively, HSBC announced that it will introduce a climate change fund. The new fund “will be dedicated to investment in companies which are participating in addressing climate change and developing solutions to the problem.” It is expected to outperform the 125% rate of return of the current HSBC Global Climate Change index.
This is great news for business organizations that have been contemplating “doing better by doing good.” Procrastination in this regard is no longer an option.