UNITED KINGDOM: A study published on the 26th of April unfurled how more than 1,500 businesses in the UK have been facing serious repercussions of climate change, and approximately three-quarters of managers and leaders getting stressed about the implications of climate change on British businesses in the next decade.
Of those who were surveyed, two-thirds of them stated that an augmenting global temperature upper limit of 2C established by the 2015 Paris Agreement would have a drastic negative impact on businesses. The common reasons for these climate change effects on British businesses include heat waves, flooding and storms, with the number of disruptions reported by respondents happening to be 52%.
Some of the sectors that faced the greatest impact of climate change, majorly impacting the UK economy, dependent on service, mainly hospitality and tourism (57%), banking and finance (53%) and retail (50%).
Neil Hodgson, Gallagher’s managing director of risk management, mentions, “British firms are definitely under considerable threat from climate change, and the harm has already been done. The nation has made a commitment to lowering emissions and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but it appears we are already falling behind with half of firms reporting negative effects.”
“Despite the widespread worry, many companies are failing to take action to safeguard themselves from the potential effects of climate change, whether that means spending money on risk management strategies for their facilities, purchasing more eco-friendly equipment, or making sure they have the right insurance,” he added.
More than 53% of business executives have lagged behind in taking decisive action to resolve the problem. This makes British businessmen deficient in handling important issues of climate change.
Only 38% of business leaders were able to verify that the company’s current insurance coverage covers compromise caused by climate change and catastrophic weather events, notwithstanding almost a quarter (23%) of the people affected by climate change having submitted claims with their insurance companies for damages.
Hodgson says, “The fact that corporations feel the government should be preparing them for climate change rather than taking responsibility for their own protection is arguably the most worrisome. It’s time for businesses to take action.”
Despite the fact that almost three-quarters (73%) of those polled are concerned about how the effects of climate change will impact their businesses over the course of the next ten years, the majority (51%) agree that the government ought to be in charge of guaranteeing that business enterprise are ready to face the difficulties that lie ahead. Just 16% of people believe that firms are responsible.
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