CLIMATE CHANGE

CNN - As global leaders gather in Azerbaijan for the United Nations Climate Change Conference this week, a new report is flashing a warning signal about natural disasters. The total cost of damage from climate-related extreme weather events globally was approximately $2 trillion between 2014 and 2023, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. That's roughly in line with the economic toll of the 2008 global financial crisis. There has also been an 83% increase in recorded climate disasters between 1980-1999 and 2000-2019, the ICC says. The report comes as President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo climate regulations in the US, including rolling back pollution limits on tailpipes and power plants.

Time -If a second Trump term is an epochal event for American democracy, so too is it for the global efforts to address climate change. Trump has a long history denying the science of climate, and will likely, once again, reverse U.S. climate efforts at home and abroad. It feels safe to say that the possibility of any sort of ambitious plot for the world to double down and keep the world to the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to well below 2°C is firmly in the rearview mirror. But, as severe as the climate consequences of a second Trump presidency are, he does not represent a death knell to the decarbonization agenda. Both economic factors and political realities globally mean that climate efforts will continue.   

The question now is what we make of this new reality. Companies and investors will need to look past the day-to-day movements of the incoming Trump Administration to understand the long-term trends—and plan with both in mind. Keeping an eye on the longer-term trajectory is difficult, but it will pay dividends, not just for the climate but in terms of financial results also. Political leaders will need to stay attuned to local and state governments to push climate efforts forward. And climate activists will need to find new ways to reach a broad swath of the public.