Facing the impacts of climate change is a key challenge of this century - not only for governments and communities, but also for businesses.
The economic sector in many countries is strongly affected by climate change. While this is most obvious for the agricultural sector, severe impacts can already be observed on industry as well, be it in terms of rising prices for raw material, damages of transport routes, rising prices for energy and water, or more frequent gaps in the supply of these. SMEs are particularly vulnerable to these impacts as many rely on old machinery, have limited awareness and skills on questions of resource efficiency, and are located in areas with insufficient infrastructure. The capacities to assess, monitor, and adapt to climate change-related risks are still low.
Adapting to climate change is crucial both for business survival and growth. Businesses which prepare for, or "adapt" to, climate change impacts, first and foremost assure their business survival in times of a changing climate. At the same time companies can make use of business opportunities resulting from a changing climate, e.g., by developing adaptation products and services for people and organisations.
The Climate Expert website provides
For this purpose the website contains the online learning programme "Becoming a Climate Expert" for companies as well as a Toolbox with materials and further information on a related training programme.
SMEs which complete the Climate Expert online course or related training programmes will be able to answer the following questions: