NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

All over the world, the climate is changing. In some places, storm surges crash over flood walls. Elsewhere, crops wither, parched by drought. Climate impacts are varied and highly local. The only constant is disruption.

So, how will companies—and the communities that rely on them—cope with change?

Disruption is one of those words that some companies love and others hate. Innovative companies often work hard to disrupt themselves. They embrace disruption as a means of accelerating creative solutions and maintaining their competitive edge. Climate disruption creates that same urgency for innovation.

Generally, though, the disruptions associated with climate change bring more risk than reward. Rising seas, extreme weather and other impacts put products, properties, supply chains and livelihoods in jeopardy. By one count, ignoring climate change will cost $369 trillion by the end of next century.