Abstract

Readdressing Climate Change: Understanding Impacts on Business and Society

Climate change has been recognized as the foremost environmental problem of the twenty-first century
and has become a subject of considerable debate. The United Nations has held 25 conferences solely on
this alarming issue to spread awareness and to initiate acting. Without drastic action today, adapting to
these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly. This paper aims to address the impacts of
climate change on business and society globally describing current state and concerns of climate change,
adverse effect on society, challenges towards survival of different business and industries, and steps
needed to be taken by corporations, government and policy makers towards the cause. It would also
discuss about counter arguments, for instance the positive side of climate change in business. The paper
would typically be divided into five major areas

(1) Current Context – describing with data statistics, causes, what has been done, UN conferences.
(sources 1,3,4,8,10)
(2) Effects – Economic, Social, forecasted future. (source 2 & 3)
(3) Survival of the fittest – Challenges faced by businesses in various industries. (source 1, 3, 7)
(4) Responding to the cause: Adaptability, Company responsibility, governmental actions, actions
towards Sustainability. (Source 4,5)
(5) Transforming Business: ‘Is global climate change actually good for business?’ Identifying New
Business Opportunities (source 4,5,6,7,9)

Sources:

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Elmar. (2011). Impacts from Climate Change on Organizations: A Conceptual Foundation.
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3. Kibria, Golam. (2016). Climate change and Social and Economic Impacts.
10.13140/RG.2.2.22469.04324/2.
4. Linnenluecke, Martina & Griffiths, Andrew & Winn, Monika. (2013). Firm and industry
adaptation to climate change: A review of climate adaptation studies in the business and
management field. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 4. 10.1002/wcc.214.
5. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/how-companies-can-
adapt-to-climate-change
6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2018/10/11/climate-change-is-transforming-
business/#18dddf162f47
7. https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/06/20/climate-change-economy-impact
8. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/business/climate-change-global-risk-wef-davos/index.html
9. https://www.fomin.org/es-es/PORTADA/noticiasNew/ArtMID/18979/ArticleID/12545/Is-global-
climate-change-good-for-business.aspx
10. https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/climate-change/