The climate is changing! What about your business?

Humanity is entering new and uncharted waters in its environmental history. It is now universally accepted that climate change is happening and has been largely caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily due to human activities.

In 2009, the next round of negotiations begins for the Kyoto Protocol and it is expected that the bigger developing countries, including South Africa, will make commitments to cut carbon emissions. The Western Cape has already committed to cutting emissions as part of its Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.

Having completed a global survey on executive attitudes to climate change, McKinsey reports that sixty percent of executives consider climate change as strategically important to their business. Thirty percent of the executives reported that their company almost always takes climate change into account when developing overall company strategy.

Business can be affected by climate change both directly and indirectly.  Directly, business can be affected through the actual changes in climate such as changes in temperature, wind patterns and rising sea levels. Crucially for the Western Cape, as rainfall declines and rising temperatures increase evaporation rates, water could become much harder to come by.

Indirectly, business can be affected through efforts to mitigate carbon emissions. Political efforts to curb emissions can lead to measures that increase the price of carbon, pushing up the cost of doing business. Eighty percent of the executives surveyed by McKinsey believed their country would enact regulation to mitigate and adapt to climate change within five years.

Consumers are also putting pressure on business to take cognisance of their carbon footprint. They are increasingly interested in how far their food has travelled to reach their plate and how climate-friendly the process to produce their purchases was. Markets for climate-friendly consumer products are growing at a steady clip.

Our world’s changing climate offers both challenges and opportunities to business. In order for business to overcome these challenges and exploit these advantages, preparation needs to be made. The question then is 'Are you and your business ready?'

Wesgro’s upcoming publication of 'Western Cape Trade and Investment Trends' offers a more in-depth analysis of the inter-relationship between international trade and climate change.

For more information contact Wesgro directly:

Contact: Amy Jansen, Wesgro IQ Unit
Email: amy@wesgro.org.za
Tel +27 21 487 8600
Website: www.wesgro.co.za