You've come a long way. You have seen how to set up your adaptation process. .
. And you have understood that adaptation goes hand in hand with mitigation. Before we go, here are a few general tips to keep in mind.
Things to avoid, and on the contrary, some very useful actions to take. Don’t: focus on the short term. Yes, anticipating possible risks in 2030 is good practice.
But these risks will keep increasing BEYOND 2030. You need to take this into account. And to plan your adaptation measures accordingly.
In addition, the forecasts themselves could change, with the risks revised upwards. In South Florida, some residents thought they had prepared for the inevitable rise in sea levels. .
. sometimes spending thousands of dollars to raise their villas. .
. Only, in the meantime, the forecasts have been revised upwards. .
. ! All that money could well be swallowed up too.
. . !
. . .
Failing to take a long-term view can therefore result in enormous costs with no guarantee of effective adaptation. On the contrary, anticipating more distant risks, which will often be more serious, will enable you to spread your adaptation measures - and therefore their cost - over time. Don’t: work in silos.
If your organisation doesn't get its departments and sites talking to each other. . .
it's putting itself at risk. Certain risks might not be identified! Feedback and exchanges between different sites and departments are always beneficial.
This will engage employees and improve acceptance of your adaptation plan. . .
as well as its monitoring and application. . .
So, try to facilitate communication across the board. It will also encourage a shared risk culture to form throughout your organisation. Do: include your partners.
Remember, if one end of your value chain is at risk, so are you. But it's not always easy to obtain information about your value chain. So how can you proceed?
You can organise interviews. In industry, for example, ask your maintenance and repair service providers. They are often the best informed about the technical details of your equipment, such as its sensitivity to heatwaves or humidity.
More generally, holding discussions with your suppliers can be an opportunity to include them in your adaptation process. . .
and maybe to construct your strategy together later on. And you can go even further, by helping your suppliers to implement their own adaptation strategy. Remember, it's in your interest too.
And then, in your value chain, think about your customers. In the construction industry, for example, the future consequences of climate change on buildings must be considered. Otherwise, your customers may turn against you tomorrow.
Do: identify the infrastructure you depend on. Transport and telecommunication networks, water and energy installations, but also data centres. .
. All this infrastructure will be severely tested by climate change. In the United Kingdom, more than 4,000 miles of roads are at risk of flooding.
And this will increase in the years to come… More generally, whether in transport, water management or energy, it is estimated that 40% of British infrastructure is at risk of flooding. So, think infrastructure. Keep this in mind when carrying out your risk assessment!
Do: cooperate with local stakeholders. Stakeholders in the same geographical area often face the SAME risks. For example, on infrastructure.
Here too, combine your approaches. Talk to your local stakeholders, both public and private. And organise working groups together to share your respective knowledge of your common risks.
This will help you to strengthen your risk assessment, find new adaptation measures. . .
and then, why not put them in place together? This is a good way of sharing costs. One example is the Clim'Ability project in the Upper Rhine region, between France, Germany and Switzerland.
Researchers AND organisations have come together to assess local stakeholders’ vulnerabilities and develop adaptation strategies TOGETHER. The result is a risk assessment tool that is freely available to all organisations in the region. We've come to the end of this course on adaptation.
I hope that everything is clearer for you. One final message. 20,000 years ago, the Earth underwent a major climate change.
. . The temperature rose by around 6 degrees.
. . but it took several thousand years.
Today, the speed of the climate change we are experiencing is unprecedented in the history of our planet. Faced with the urgency of climate change, we have no choice but to mobilise on a massive scale. It is now time both to mitigate and also, as you will have realised, to adapt.
We no longer have time for observation, let’s take action, now !
