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Climate Change

22 May 2002 020522

22 May 2002

Our climate is already changing with an increase in the intensity of extreme weather events. The changes in weather patterns present risk and opportunities to CIMA businesses.

The UK's Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) has published climate change scenarios that contain detailed and confident predictions of future weather patterns over the twenty first century. The scenarios (available at http://www.ukcip.org.uk/) predict that:

  • The UK climate will become significantly warmer
  • High summer temperatures will become more frequent and very cold winters will become increasingly rare
  • Winters will become wetter and summers will become drier everywhere
  • Snowfall will decrease throughout the UKSpells of heavy rain may become more frequent
  • Spells of heavy rain may become more frequent 
  • Relative sea level will continue to rise around most of the UK's shoreline and extreme sea levels will be experienced more frequently.

These changes are taking place now and will affect you; your customers, suppliers, employees, manufacturing processes, assets, funding and your profitability.


Why does this matter to your business?


The Advisory Committee on business and the environment (ACBE) believes that UK business needs to move now to address the risks and realise the opportunities associated with the expected change in climate. For businesses, a changing climate means:

  • increased cost of capital and insurance for operations vulnerable to extreme weather events
  • increased operating costs
  • shifts in customer demand
  • possible disruption to supply and distribution routes
  • possible disruption to operations and availability of workforce
  • acquisition and growth strategies must incorporate climate change impacts

Bruce Epsley, CIMA's President, said "The earlier that we integrate climatic considerations into our business planning and processes, the greater the advantage we will gain in minimising the risks, maximising the opportunities and gaining competitive advantage. The cost of change will be negated, to some level, by careful consideration of the issues and the necessary forward planning."

Climate Change Levy

If you would like more information please contact Anita Allott
Phone: +44 (0) 2380 275331