1. Introducing Climate Risk
Iain Watt, November 21, 2012

2. climate risk
Climate change is now on the radar
screen of most large organisations in the
UK, but few are thinking through the full
range of associated risks…

3. climate risk
There are impacts from the physical changes associated with
climate change – but also from the societal response to
climate change.
And there are both direct and indirect risks:
• Some organisations will see their physical assets directly
impacted by climate change, for example, while others will
have their supply chains – or their markets – disrupted.
• Some will be directly impacted by regulation to reduce
emissions, while others will have the costs of such
regulation passed along to them.

4. physical impacts

5. the broader societal response

6. resilience
Thus, to ensure that developments
are fit for purpose over their
proposed lifespan, we not only have
to consider the ‘obvious’ impacts of “...some of the largest effects
climate change, but also how in the UK will result from
climate change elsewhere in
climate change will impact: the world. The consequences
of these impacts will be
• availability of resources transmitted through global
• operating and maintenance costs trade, resource flows,
migration and political
• population and demographics networks. The UK will have to
prepare for these as well.”
• politics and policy
• business and trade Committee on Climate
Change
• social attitudes and norms

7. Planning for
uncertainty…
or
or, even...

8. The new dilemma?
Wetter, warmer winters?
Hotter, dryer summers?
More extreme events?
vs.
A shifting jet stream?
Negative Arctic Oscillations?
A new ENSO regime?

9. thank you
Iain Watt | i.watt@forumforthefuture.org
forumforthefuture.org | registered charity no. 1040519
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