Climate change adaptation means adjusting our behaviour, systems, and—in some cases—ways of life to protect our families, economies, and the environment we live in from climate change’s impacts.
While there are many efforts and activism surrounding climate action, we should be looking at how to adapt to the effects of climate change that we cannot escape or postpone. The leap in the development of technology and study of innovation can help combat the climate crisis, but it also requires collective action for these innovations to materialize.
Fortunately, climate technology start-ups are already pioneering products and services that can mitigate climate risks and adapt to climate change.
Technology and Climate Change
Technological change on an extensive scale will be needed to reduce global GHG emissions substantially. The role of technological innovation in addressing societal problems such as air pollution and water pollution is a more recent development. A study by UNFCCC cited that unlike innovations in industries such as pharmaceuticals or electronics—where the result is new products that consumers desire (such as more effective or lower-cost medicines, cell phones and internet services)—there is little or no “natural” market for most environmental technologies whose function is to reduce or eliminate a pollutant discharge to the environment. For instance, most consumers would not be willing to pay an extra $1,000.00 to install air pollution emission controls on their vehicles. This is because most individuals perceive that unless everyone is required to take the same action, their decision would only do little.
Hence, the actions of government agencies in all dimensions are critical to the nature and extent of innovations that can lower costs and improve environmental control efficiency.
Adapting to Climate Change
More than alleviating the impact of climate disasters, adapting to the adverse effects of climate change should also be addressed. Parties to the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement acknowledge that adaptation is a global challenge faced by all at local, subnational, national, regional and international levels.
Climate change impacts are still only vaguely known within the scientific community and our knowledge of such impacts (at the global as well as national level) will need to proliferate over time. As a first step, “Decision makers” (whether global or national) will need to be involved with their respective scientific communities to be aware of the latest developments in climate science.
Ultimately, they need to establish awareness and understanding of climate change amongst stakeholders from within and outside governments. If implemented effectively, the next generation of school and university graduates will have some level of climate literacy.
The Role of Climate Technology in Mitigating and Addressing Climate Change
There is an urgent need to change and adapt innovative approaches to address the progressive impacts of climate change – and that is through climate technologies. Technologies that we use to address climate change are known as climate technologies. Climate technologies help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including renewable energies such as wind energy, solar power and hydropower.
CLIMATIG is a climate tech start-up that uses climate intelligence to help asset owners, investors, and businesses prepare for climate risks and adapt to the aftermath of climate disasters which is easily accessible through smartphones.
CLIMATIG uses expert-led climate science, machine learning, and AI to give the most precise risk calculations for climate hazards up to 2100. Climate intelligence startups like CLIMATIG utilizes smart science-backed forecasts to alleviate climate risks and adapt to climate change through the following:
- Accurate cost predictions to anticipate how much emergency funds and manpower a business will need in the future.
- Creation of compelling presentations that can move decision makers to act with data visualization from CLIMATIG;
- Evaluation of properties to their vulnerability against climate disasters to avoid risky investments and uncover opportunities; and
- Tailor-fit features and services to public authorities and individuals to empower citizens by making climate change and climate intelligence easy to comprehend.
Most environmental issues require collective actions to address climate problems effectively, which is why the role of government policies and regulations is crucial. Businesses and Investors can contribute to improving the environment by integrating climate change adaptation measures into their policies and investments.