Economic and national security could be threated by climate change

Climate change is likely to threaten countries’ economic and national security, according to a 360º report from Lloyd’s.
This will spark growing tension between states, as competition heats up for increasingly scarce natural resources — food, water and energy, according to Climate Change and Security: Risks and Opportunities for Business.
“As climate change takes hold, few businesses will be able to escape the impact of greater competition for resources,” Richard Ward, CEO of Lloyd’s, notes in the foreword. “As nations become more protective of their assets, and markets become more volatile, it can no longer be business as usual.
“Business strategy and operations will be increasingly impacted and it is critical that companies and their insurers work to understand these interdependencies now and begin to reflect them in their business plans and approach to risk management.”
Since nobody knows how quickly climate change will happen or how severe the consequences will be, companies must build a strategy towards climate change into the planning, the report notes.
Climate change does not prevent well-run organizations from succeeding, even if it means business will never be as usual, the report continues. Companies should assess risks — including a potential rise in economic nationalism, increased inner-state conflict and higher levels of insecurity, which can add to the cost and complexity of conducting business — and build these into the strategic and operational planning.
Additionally, business has a crucial role to play in the mitigation of climate change, since government is limited to what it can do alone, the report points out.
“They will need to harness the creativity, inventiveness and organizational capacities of the private sector by developing specific technologies to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to change behaviour patterns among consumers,” the report notes. “The latter is particularly important and business can play an important role. Unless people alter their priorities and their behaviour, efforts by government and the business sector to deal with climate change are likely to be unsuccessful.”