The private sector contribution to societal resilience:
The WBCSD views
Policy Forum on Adaptation to Climate Change in
OECD Countries
Paris 10-11 May 2012
Thierry Berthoud
1
«It is not the strongest species that survives...
nor the most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. »
Charles Darwin, Naturalist
“Man never made any material as resilient as the
human spirit. ”
Bernard Williams, Philosopher
The resilience opportunity in 2 quotes
Sectoral opportunities 1/2
AGRICULTURE:
• Increased yields
• Development of new plant varieties
RAW MATERIALS, ENERGY AND UTILITIES
• Easier access to mineral resources in
some high latitude areas
• New patterns of daily and seasonal
energy demand
WATER
• Demand for water-saving technologies,
services and products
HEALTHCARE
• New healthcare needs due to changing climate conditions
• Anticipated management of forecasted extreme events (heat waves…)
Sectoral opportunities (1/2)
Sectoral opportunities 2/2
SERVICES
• Climate / weather customized data and models supply
• New insurance products and markets
• Resilience consulting services
• Development of new building codes
LOGISTIC/DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSPORT
• New shipping routes
• New markets for automotive equipment
INDUSTRY/MANUFACTURING
• Products with low water / energy footprints (manufacturing and use phase)
• Cooling equipment systems
• Resilient materials including building supplies
• New Infrastructure demand
• Manufacturing systems’ retrofit
Sectoral opportunities (2/2)
8
Earth Networks Climate Adaptation Program Integrated Global Infrastructure for End-to-End Solutions
Fully operational turnkey solutions providing critical weather and
climate intelligence fostering societal adaptation and resiliency
•Early warning system for severe weather
•Proxy radar alternative
•Enhanced numerical weather prediction
•Agriculture and food security applications
•Water resource management applications
•Mobile/SMS
•Web/desktop/email
•Custom alerts
Its entrepreneurial spirit positions business at the
forefront of the solutions providers for societal resilience
How can the public sector facilitate the
business action for climate resilience ? Partnership Public Sector Business
Academia and public sector R&D
• Climate science
• New economics models
• Geoscience and technology response
Meteorological public networks
• Forecasting systems and
downscaled climate models
• Installing early warning systems
for extreme events
Standardization bodies
• Changing building codes and integrating climate and weather related factors
• Standards for equipments and products
• Behavioral recommendation (use of water, in-door temperature etc….)
Partnership Public Sector Business (cont.)
Public health system
• Sharing of data and information
Resilient infrastructure design
• Elaborate jointly resilient specification of
infrastructure
Public sector action in consultation with business
Public procurement rules
• Purchase climate resilient equipments and
products to spur demand (public procurement)
Regulation
• Adapt /change insurance regulations (force majeure)
How can the public sector facilitate the
business action for climate resilience ?
Sustainable Development = dialogues
Successful
climate
resilience
Business
Climate
Science
Technology
Civil Society
Consumers
NGOs
Government
Regulators
Standardization
bodies
11
Concluding (provisional) remarks
• A win-win move : Sharing public and private information such as
public observation of climate and water systems, public health
monitoring, consumption patterns and trends, insurers observations etc.
Most CC phenomena will appear progressively over decade long period
• A need : constant effort of thorough observation of effects and impacts
over a pluri-decades long period
• A must : A real collaborative, anticipative and forward-looking spirit by
all stakeholders
• A chance : The “long” timeframe of CC is “adapted” to most
infrastructure investment cycles
• A “no-brainer” : linking resilience investment to mitigation investment
on a successful pathway for green growth
Top Related