WEBVTT 00:00:00.083 --> 00:00:04.027 According to new research we've done at the World Economic Forum with BCG, 00:00:04.027 --> 00:00:07.467 the losses that businesses are likely to face between now and 2050 00:00:07.467 --> 00:00:12.039 due to worker productivity issues reach $1.5 trillion. 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:14.221 And that's actually only across three industries. 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.276 Thank you, all, so much for being here. 00:00:16.486 --> 00:00:17.535 Eric, let's start with you. 00:00:17.745 --> 00:00:20.220 Let's talk about the health impacts of climate change. 00:00:20.220 --> 00:00:21.814 Is this on anyone's radar? 00:00:22.192 --> 00:00:25.925 Well, unfortunately, it's not on their radar as much as it should be. 00:00:26.261 --> 00:00:30.036 When I talk to business leaders about climate resilience and climate impacts, 00:00:30.036 --> 00:00:33.351 the first thing that generally comes to their mind is supply chains. 00:00:33.351 --> 00:00:36.539 But actually, according to new research we've done at 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:41.028 the World Economic Forum with BCG, the losses that businesses are likely to 00:00:41.028 --> 00:00:45.852 face between now and 2050 due to worker productivity issues reach $1.5 trillion. 00:00:46.188 --> 00:00:48.369 And that's actually only across three industries. 00:00:48.621 --> 00:00:51.431 That's across food and agriculture, the built environment, 00:00:51.431 --> 00:00:52.732 and health and health care. 00:00:52.984 --> 00:00:55.207 So in reality, across the breadth of industry, 00:00:55.207 --> 00:00:56.256 it will be much higher. 00:00:56.591 --> 00:00:59.696 But this is not how business leaders think about climate impacts. 00:00:59.906 --> 00:01:01.416 This is a workforce issue. 00:01:01.709 --> 00:01:04.059 It's primarily driven by extreme heat. 00:01:04.562 --> 00:01:07.331 We all know that because of climate change, 00:01:07.331 --> 00:01:11.694 periods of extreme heat are becoming more frequent and more intense, 00:01:11.694 --> 00:01:15.343 and they will continue to do so as the world gets warmer. 00:01:15.721 --> 00:01:20.420 So business leaders need to update their thinking about climate impacts to include 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:22.601 these workforce health considerations. 00:01:23.188 --> 00:01:25.915 Liz, how can business leaders secure long-term 00:01:25.915 --> 00:01:28.558 funding for their climate health initiatives? 00:01:29.187 --> 00:01:32.669 Well, it really starts by building the business 00:01:32.669 --> 00:01:35.606 case, by evaluating the impact of health 00:01:35.606 --> 00:01:41.059 climate risks on the business, and really tying it to the business outcome. 00:01:41.353 --> 00:01:44.206 So if you take an example, look at the food and agriculture sector. 00:01:44.206 --> 00:01:49.743 And like Eric was saying, we expect up to $740 billion of worker 00:01:49.743 --> 00:01:56.078 availability losses just in that sector alone by 2050 without adaptation. 00:01:56.707 --> 00:02:01.280 So thinking about the types of initiatives that companies can implement 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.853 to prevent those losses—things like protecting workers from heat risks, 00:02:05.853 --> 00:02:11.684 putting the right types of safe working conditions and environments in place— 00:02:11.684 --> 00:02:17.095 those are the types of things that companies need to be implementing but also measuring the ROI. 00:02:17.095 --> 00:02:20.368 So if you take an example in the food and agriculture sector, 00:02:20.368 --> 00:02:23.472 you could see that very simple solutions— 00:02:23.472 --> 00:02:27.667 like sending SMS alerts to smallholder farmers to 00:02:27.667 --> 00:02:31.317 help them understand the right timing for when to plant and 00:02:31.317 --> 00:02:36.099 when to expect pest threats— can deliver up to a 10x ROI. 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:39.539 So those are the types of things where companies need to be building those examples, 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:44.238 building the proof points, and then really connecting that through 00:02:44.238 --> 00:02:48.768 to demonstrate there's a financial impact of investing in these types of solutions. 00:02:49.146 --> 00:02:51.202 Elia, how can you accelerate progress to 00:02:51.202 --> 00:02:53.677 address the health impacts of climate change? 00:02:54.474 --> 00:02:57.536 We need to embed climate health adaptation into business practices. 00:02:57.914 --> 00:02:59.969 And there are three key elements to do that. 00:03:00.011 --> 00:03:05.675 The first is enforced tight regulations and policies that incentivize investment 00:03:05.675 --> 00:03:07.856 from public and private sector. 00:03:08.276 --> 00:03:12.513 The second is robust data systems that actually allow forecasting, mitigation, 00:03:12.513 --> 00:03:15.323 and ultimately prevention of climate health issues. 00:03:15.323 --> 00:03:20.777 And there are examples emerging that help cities think through urban planning and heat mitigation. 00:03:21.113 --> 00:03:25.643 And the third is having innovative financing models such as resilience bonds and 00:03:25.643 --> 00:03:29.125 co-funding mechanisms that share the risk across stakeholders. 00:03:29.377 --> 00:03:31.600 There's a lot to do and no single actor can do it. 00:03:31.978 --> 00:03:34.747 And so this is going to require collaboration across sectors. 00:03:34.747 --> 00:03:36.173 And there are examples emerging. 00:03:36.173 --> 00:03:40.620 One is the Collective Action on Dengue, which is an initiative that brings 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:44.395 together 30-plus stakeholders across health care, urban health, 00:03:44.395 --> 00:03:49.807 and financing to try and prevent and control the impacts of the disease going forward. 00:03:50.059 --> 00:03:51.150 There's a lot to get done. 00:03:51.821 --> 00:03:55.932 It's going to require action across governments, businesses, civil society. 00:03:55.932 --> 00:04:00.630 But we should drive forward and try and accelerate to get to the scale that's required. 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:02.099 Thank you, all, so much. 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:03.064 Thank you.