The short answer – all businesses need to begin adapting now because climate change is already here. Some impacts within the next 20 years are now inevitable.

The IPCC report makes it clear that climate change is happening now and will continue to accelerate. Some of the changes that have already begun cannot be stopped. Now it’s only possible to adapt and to limit the impacts of global warming, not to prevent them.

Since the impacts of global warming vary by region, Sweden will experience its own version of climate change. For instance, if the global average temperature rises by 1,5 degrees relative to pre-industrial levels, which now looks certain to happen, the average temperature in Sweden will rise by 2-3 degrees. And the resulting changes in Sweden’s climate have begun.

The scientists say that within the next 20 years, it will be warmer, wetter and windier. The IPCC will publish a report on impacts in January 2022, but we can already see how Swedish companies will be affected. For instance:

• work environments will have to be adapted for higher summer temperatures
• employees will be affected at home by flooding and heatwaves
• transport of goods will become less reliable and more costly because of increased flooding
• insurance costs for buildings are likely to rise
• crop yields will be reduced by more variable and extreme weather
• supplies of foodstuffs from other countries will become less secure
• buildings and infrastructure will be damaged by more intense storms

These impacts now look certain within the coming two decades. Is your business ready to adapt? How will you reduce emissions to prevent even greater impacts?