Lhe scale and irreversibility of climate change are no longer in doubt and everyone senses that we are entering a world fundamentally different from the one we have known. These transformations have a direct impact on societies, economies and of course businesses. For those who are the most aware and sensitive, two major strategic objectives are on the agenda: mitigation and adaptation.
Mitigation aims to minimize the negative impacts that business activity generates on the Earth system. The challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and more specifically CO2, has become essential in order to limit the extent of warming temperatures. This mitigation objective also concerns the preservation of biodiversity, the protection of water resources, and the artificialization of soils.
These issues are currently less well understood by companies, but they will inevitably become more acute in the months and years to come. Mitigation means undertaking a range of actions in order not to exceed certain limits likely to compromise the development of human civilization.
The objective of mitigating negative impacts is very far from being achieved, but it is today best understood by companies and their managers. However, it only constitutes part of the actions that they must implement to adapt to climate change.
We come out of a world of abundance
It is indeed essential that companies prepare for a very different world. A world that will be crossed by more intense and more frequent climatic hazards. A world in which the abundance of water, energy and soil will dry up. A world in which certain infrastructures will be weakened. A world in which food production will become more complex and generate inflationary dynamics that governments will struggle to contain. A world in which democratic institutions and the foundations of liberalism will be put to the test.
Adaptation means understanding that we are leaving a world of abundance and that companies will have to build socio-economic projects that will fully integrate climatic, environmental and energy considerations.
This dual challenge of mitigation and adaptation to climate change is a key component of the societalization dynamic that runs through businesses. It is obviously not the only one, but it is the one that carries the most worry, urgency and complexity. Addressing it requires a strategic paradigm shift within corporate governance.
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