Sustainable Investing: Adaptation in Action

The report analyses adaptation disclosures for 200 companies to gauge the current state of corporate preparedness for physical climate risks. Physical risks are increasingly affecting operating costs, business continuity and asset values, with US annual losses from extreme weather rising roughly six-fold from ~$20bn in the 1980s to ~$120bn recently, insurers retreating from high-risk locations, and risk migrating from an off-balance-sheet insurable event to a recurring source of capex and opex. Acute risks dominate disclosures (flooding and cyclones/storms cited by 64% of companies), while chronic hazards such as heat stress and water stress remain under-disclosed relative to exposure. Consumer, Real Estate and Basic Industries show more concentrated chronic exposure;