Financial firm HSBC echoed the IPCC report’s conclusions by issuing two separate reports of its own in recent days. It’s research shows that India, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil are the G-20 nations whose economies are most vulnerable to climate risks, including rising sea levels and melting glaciers. The IPCC report “provides firmer foundations for policy action,” says Nick Robins, head of the Climate Change Centre at HSBC.
Mark Way, who heads reinsurer Swiss Re’s sustainability work in the Americas, says it would be “foolish” not to listen to IPCC’s conclusion that it’s 95 percent likely that mankind is causing climate change. Transitioning to a low carbon economy is not an option, it’s a necessity, Way says. To this end, Swiss Re will join an initiative that pledges companies to source 100 percent of their energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
If US businesses act now to reduce GHG emissions by an average of 3 percent annually, they can save up to $190 billion in 2020 alone, or $780 billion over 10 years, according to a report published in June by World Wildlife Fund and CDP.
Environmental Groups praised the IPCC report, saying it represents a call to action. Steve Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund chief scientist, said the EPA’s proposed carbon pollution limits for new power plants are “good steps in the right direction” and the Natural Resources Defense Council called the new power plant rules “critical” to addressing global warming.
