Just transition for climate adaptation: a business brief

The objective of this brief is to highlight the important role of adaptation action for large multinational corporations that aim to achieve a just transition. Its focus is on how businesses can adapt to minimize climate change risks and impacts in a just and equitable manner. The brief outlines seven recommendations for businesses to advance a just transition for climate adaptation.

Key messages

1. Climate impacts and risks can have knock-on effects along entire supply chains, affecting businesses, workers, livelihoods and communities. Companies need to engage in adaptation action that avoids redistributing risk or leaving workers, their communities and downstream suppliers behind.
2. Businesses striving to achieve a just transition, in line with mitigation, also need to engage actively in adaptation to climate risks and impacts in a just and equitable manner. Businesses, workers and affected communities have a shared interest to adapt collectively to climate change.
3. For businesses, in particular those that are multinational, climate risk can stem from physical impacts on production, supply chains or workforce, adverse effects of climate adaptation action (maladaptation) or from changes in policy and technology driven by climate mitigation efforts (transition risk).
4. Achieving a just transition leads to a more sustainable environment for business by mitigating systemic risks related to climate change, reducing inequality and avoiding adverse political, economic and social restructuring.
5. New partnerships and coalitions as well as large-scale investments in equitable adaptation are crucial to ensure just and resilient supply chains and business operations.