Global Corporations Bracing For Major Climate Impacts w/i 5 Years; See Also - PG&E

[hatrack]

Many of the world’s biggest companies, from Silicon Valley tech firms to large European banks, are bracing for the prospect that climate change could substantially affect their bottom lines within the next five years, according to a new analysis of corporate disclosures.

Under pressure from shareholders and regulators, companies are increasingly disclosing the specific financial impacts they could face as the planet warms, such as extreme weather that could disrupt their supply chains or stricter climate regulations that could hurt the value of coal, oil and gas investments. Early estimates suggest that trillions of dollars may ultimately be at stake.

Even so, analysts warn that many companies are still lagging in accounting for all of the plausible financial risks from global warming. “The numbers that we’re seeing are already huge, but it’s clear that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Bruno Sarda, the North America president for CDP, an international nonprofit that wrote the new report and works with companies around the world to publicly disclose the risks and opportunities that climate change could create for their businesses.

EDIT

In its report to CDP last year, PG&E said that the rise in wildfire risk in the American West, partly driven by global warming, could create significant financial costs if the utility were held liable for the fires. PG&E estimated the “potential financial impact” from wildfires at around $2.5 billion, based on claims that the utility had paid out in 2017. However, that turned out to be overly optimistic: This past January, PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection and said it now faced up to $30 billion in fire liabilities shortly after its power lines sparked what became California’s deadliest wildfire yet last fall.

EDIT

https://climatecrocks.com/2019/06/05/the-bottom-line-climate-will-crush-company-profits/#more-55908

[IndyOp]

1. Excellent messaging. More! (nt)

[JudyM]

2. Would love to see the Godzilla corporations set up battle lines over climate protection/denial.