The Adaptation Conversation Acclimatise

The cumulative costs of achieving the 1.5˚C temperature target outlined in the Paris agreement could be as high as 100 trillion US dollars, a new study has found. However, researchers found that there was a wide range of uncertainty in the forecasts with the low-end estimate being 10 trillion US dollars.

In this Conversation on Climate Change Adaptation, we speak to the study's lead author, Professor Detlef Van Vuuren, who works at PPL Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency, and lectures at Utrecht University.

Since the world's governments committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) sufficiently to limit global warming to 1.5˚C or at least "well below" 2˚C by the end of the century in the Paris Agreement, attention has increasingly turned to how to achieve such a mammoth task.

As with COVID-19, the costs of inaction are unimaginable, but the dramatic cuts in GHG emissions necessary to hit the targets will require an unprecedented transformation of the global economy. Such changes will inevitably come with a hefty price tag. Calculating what this is is no easy task, the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, set out to do just that. It provides discounted cumulative cost estimates for hitting the 2˚C and 1.5˚C temperature targets.

The researchers found that these costs had a wide range of uncertainty stemming from both the physical climate system and also the socio-economic pathways to action.

Read the research here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0732-1

Knowing how to talk about climate change impacts and the actions taken to curb it isn’t always easy. One of the first things communications specialists will say is that you need to know your audience. Recent research conducted in the UK in November 2019 show that there has been a massive shift in the public’s perceptions about climate change. Climate change came second only to Brexit when respondents were asked which were the main issues that the country would face in the next 20 years. Whilst this research was conducted before COVID-19 outbreaks were reported (and this podcast was recorded just before the UK had heightened restrictions) the learnings are still valuable for thinking about how we now talk about climate change. With heightened public awareness and concern about action on climate change, narratives about adaptation and resilience need to be carefully formed to ensure that engagement remains high, and that action is taken and sustained.

In this podcast episode, we speak to Dr Adam Corner from Climate Outreach to find out more about this recent research project and the principles for engagement that they have derived from it. Climate Outreach are a team of social scientists and communication specialists working to increase public engagement with climate change. They work at the interface of research and practice and help organisations to communicate climate change in ways that resonate with the values of their audiences

Making research work for others with Dr Catherine Grasham and Alice Chautard by Acclimatise

Adaptation and Water Security with Dr Catherine Grasham & Dr Ellen Dyer by Acclimatise

In this podcast, we hear from Dr Louise Arnal, a Flood Forecast Product Designer at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on the advancements that have been made in flood prediction and how it can help policy makers when making decisions about adaptation and resilience measures.

@ArnalLouise
@ECMWF

Financial institutions around the world are beginning to wake up to the reality that climate change will have material impacts on their loan and investment portfolios. Since the Financial Stability Board's Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) released its recommendations in 2017, banks and other financial institutions have been working to understand how climate risks impact their businesses. Mich of the focus of these efforts has been in the EU and North America, however trail-blazing banks in other parts of the world are also taking action.

In this conversation on climate change adaptation, we speak with Chaitanya Kommukuri, Yes Bank's Vice President of Climate Strategy and Responsible Banking, to learn about the steps it is taking to understand, manage and respond to climate risk.