Climate readiness beyond checklist approaches

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗣-𝗦𝗖𝗥 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 Clearing Sustainability & Climate Risk (SCR), wasn’t about memorizing risk jargon - it required thinking like a risk manager, understanding second-order effects, and identifying material risks over time. Here are a few of my learnings from this experience. 1. Don’t study in isolation - Inter-link all concepts Climate risk isn’t a checklist. Transition risks (policy, technology) cascade into financial risks - affecting valuation, credit ratings, and stranded assets. For example: Policy risk (carbon tax) → Higher cement production costs → Earnings decline → Stock price drops → Credit rating impact → Refinancing gets expensive. 2. Push beyond definitions - Think second-order effects A common mistake is stopping at “Transition Risk = policy, technology, market, and reputation risks.” See how you can connect risks to financial impact: For example: Hurricane risk for an insurer → Higher claims → Capital strain → Reinsurance costs surge → Policyholder churn. 3. It prioritizes solutions which are holistic, material & over a time horizon. For example, when you are asked on what’s the primary risk for an agriculture company exporting coffee? Consider the financial impact, look at cascade risks and cut this across time horizons - in the short-term, it is acute physical risk (droughts → lower yield → price spikes), while in the long-term, it is chronic physical risk (temp shift → reduces viable farmland). 4. You need to extract the focus of the analysis Phrases like “most likely,” “primary driver,” and “key challenge” change the final answer. For eg., when asked on what is most likely climate-related challenge for global food companies in the next 5 years? Think beyond carbon taxes and litigation (i.e. transition risks), as the literal water scarcity affecting crop yield (i.e. physical risk) will be a more immediate impact. 5. Mental hooks for frameworks & models, to ensure instant recall One thing that helped me was creating mental hooks for the key concepts. Create your own like the ones below. a) NGFS Scenarios = Orderly → Disorderly → Hot House b) Climate Models vs IAMs = Science vs Economics c) SBTi Target Classifications: Near-term → Long-term → Net Zero 6. Case studies follow predictable risk patterns Understanding how industries are affected by climate risk makes it easier to tackle case studies. Think about a few. a) Mining → Transition Risk (Carbon taxes, stranded coal reserves) b) Fisheries → Acute Risk (Ocean acidification reduces fish stocks, disrupting global seafood trade) c) Retail → Supply Chain Risk (Disruptions from floods or extreme weather affects logistics) These ideas did help me clear the SCR exam and grasp how climate risks translate into financial risks. If you’re preparing, focus on financial impact, cascading risks, and systemic effects - not just definitions and trivia. #GARP #SCR #ClimateRisk #RiskManagement #Sustainability

Climate change demands a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond traditional focuses on research, technology, and finance. A "whole-of-economy" approach integrates every sector and stakeholder, recognizing climate change as an economic and social challenge, not just an environmental issue. This approach promotes a cohesive strategy, leveraging the strengths of the entire economy and acknowledging the interconnectedness of various sectors. This method provides a holistic understanding of how human activities contribute to the broader climate system. Agriculture, transportation, energy production, and industrial processes all play critical roles in greenhouse gas emissions. A fragmented approach focusing on individual sectors cannot fully capture these complexities and interdependencies. The whole-of-economy approach fosters a systemic understanding, promoting solutions that are not siloed. Involving every sector ensures that policies and actions are aligned and mutually reinforcing. For instance, transitioning to renewable energy requires technological advancements, policy changes, infrastructure development, and shifts in consumer behaviour. Coordinated efforts across government, the private sector, and civil society create an enabling environment for such transitions. This approach embeds climate considerations into economic planning and decision-making, encouraging businesses to assess and mitigate climate risks, invest in sustainable practices, and innovate for a low-carbon future. Financial institutions integrate climate risks into their investment decisions, steering capital toward sustainable projects. Governments implement policies promoting green growth, such as carbon pricing and subsidies for clean energy. The whole-of-economy approach also enhances climate adaptation by mainstreaming it into development planning. It ensures that infrastructure, urban planning, agriculture, and public health systems are designed to withstand climate impacts, reducing vulnerability and enhancing community resilience. Equity and justice are central to this approach, addressing disparities by ensuring inclusive climate policies and equitable distribution of climate action benefits. Supporting vulnerable populations and investing in their capacity building and resilience is crucial. In conclusion, the whole of economy approach offers a pragmatic, inclusive, and comprehensive strategy for tackling the climate crisis, mitigating impacts, and strengthening adaptation capabilities for a sustainable and resilient future.

Adaptation projects often struggle to measure what truly matters: change owned by communities. This manual rewrites that story. Developed by CARE and IIED, the revised PMERL guide (Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection and Learning) is tailored for community-based adaptation (CBA) work under climate stress. It offers a locally grounded, behavior-sensitive approach to track results, assess progress, and adjust plans—based not on abstract indicators, but on community-defined visions of resilience. For M&E professionals, facilitators and CBA project teams, this is not a traditional framework—it is a learning system co-owned by the very people it serves. The manual presents a full participatory process and adaptable tools to support MEL in climate adaptation contexts: – A four-stage process: building the PMERL team, planning and conducting MEL, analysing information, and joint reflection – Guidance for mapping stakeholders, defining outcomes, and developing both quantitative and qualitative indicators – Community-led baselining and visioning approaches to assess adaptive capacity and behavioral change – Practical templates for progress tracking, outcome statements, context monitoring and stakeholder engagement – Participatory tools including seasonal calendars, Venn diagrams, trend analysis, mapping, and visual documentation – Integration with existing M&E systems without duplication, supporting donor compliance and local relevance – Strategies to embed gender equality, social inclusion and power-sensitive analysis in every phase of the MEL cycle – Field-tested applications from Nepal, Africa, and beyond, adapted for both short-term projects and broader adaptation planning This is not about ticking boxes—it is about giving voice. It turns community knowledge into structured evidence, and reflection into a shared capacity to adapt in the face of crisis.

Four complementary approaches could collectively predict the "unprecedented" in weather, informing disaster preparation. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of record-breaking weather events worldwide, from heat domes to unseasonal floods. These events often catch communities unprepared because they exist beyond our lived experience and historical records. A new perspective provides an overview of scientific approaches to identify unprecedented weather before it occurs, informing emergency management. The research team identified four complementary lines of evidence that together provide a robust framework: conventional statistical methods using observations, analysis of past events from historical records and proxies, event-based storylines, and weather/climate model explorations. When applied together — as demonstrated in their case study of extreme heat in the Netherlands — these approaches revealed that temperatures of up to 48°C are physically possible in regions previously thought to have maximums below 40°C. This work has significant implications for building climate resilience, which the authors conceptualize as a pyramid with transformative adaptation as the foundation, supported by incremental infrastructure improvements and reactive early warning systems. By Timo Kelder, Dorothy Heinrich, Lisette Klok, Vikki Thompson, Henrique Goulart, Ed Hawkins, Louise Slater and al.

Beyond CSR, SDGs, and Checklists: The Call for Living Systems A living system listens to the land and not the ledger. It nourishes soil, seed, stream, and song; not just the story we want to tell. In the last few years, there’s been a sudden and collective shift: governments, corporates, institutions; all talking about the importance of “greening.” It sure does feel like progress at first glance. But in reality, it’s often just a new name for the same old disconnection. Today, corporates are required to spend a percentage of their profits on social and environmental projects. To check the CSR box, many rush to plant forests, install solar panels, build toilets, or align with whichever SDG fits their brand narrative. There’s been a growing trend of Miyawaki and permaculture-inspired plantations being set up — often with good intentions, but sometimes without enough attention to deeper ecological context. Water cycles, soil life, native species, long-term stewardship — these are not always part of the design. The focus tends to be on how quickly something can be planted and reported, rather than how well it can root, evolve, and sustain itself over time. Sometimes, if the project gets lucky, it continues. Most of the time, it doesn’t. There’s no relationship, not enough time and certainly not enough curiosity. But living systems are not checklists. A living system is a forest that knows how to care for itself; a farm where water, soil, food, and people are in conversation; a home that catches rain, composts waste, and gives back more than it takes. It’s the slow, humble work of observing and listening to land and responding with care. These systems can’t be designed by templates or finished in quarters. They’re built with patience, observation, and trust and they grow stronger the longer we stay. This Environment Day, we should seriously ask ourselves: Are we building anything that will last beyond the funding cycle? Are we truly learning from nature or just using its image to feel less guilty? We don’t need more green in reports but living systems. We need systems that hold water, grow food, shelter life, and remember where they came from. And the kind of work I hope we all learn to value again. #EnvironmentDay #LivingSystems #PermacultureDesign #Regeneration #CSR #SDG #SoilWaterLife #EcologicalTruths #BeyondGreen

Beyond ESG: From Checklists to Capabilities McKinsey’s new “Beyond ESG — From Checklists to Capabilities” study makes a bold but overdue move: ESG needs to evolve from metric overload to strategic impact. With large companies tracking over 100 ESG KPIs, many are stretched thin and struggling to align sustainability with business direction. McKinsey’s highlights a critical shift underway in sustainability: companies are moving from tracking endless ESG metrics to building capabilities that drive measurable impact. 🔑 Key takeaways: - Large companies often monitor 100+ ESG KPIs, yet many are duplicative or misaligned. - The most effective approach is to focus on 1–3 societal issues where a company’s core strengths (innovation, supply chain, networks) can make a meaningful difference. - ESG needs to move beyond compliance and reporting — it should be part of the business model. - Collaboration with governments, NGOs, and industry peers is essential to unlock systemic change. - The highest impact comes from prioritisation: doing fewer things, but doing them deeply and strategically. The message is clear: the future of ESG lies in strategic focus and capability-building, not in expanding checklists. 📖 Full study here: https://lnkd.in/dQCDuaKY #BeyondESG #Sustainability #CorporateResponsibility #BusinessStrategy

Climate and Nature Risks and Opps: Beyond "Check-the-Box" Approaches The new era of climate and nature disclosures - deriving from real integration of climate and nature matters within enterprise risk management and strategic planning - has just started in Brazil! Welcome IFRS S1 and S2 producing effects! The first and only S2 report has just been published by Vale. Analyzing this new Brazilian climate and nature scenario, my article published today by Reset highlights a critical inflection point: boards and executives can no longer approach climate and nature-related risks and opportunities as mere disclosure compliance checklists: 🧩 the urgency of the climate crisis and nature-related loss demands a profound shift in governance and strategic decision-making 🧩 regulatory frameworks such as the IFRS Foundation's S1 and S2, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations, and the #CSRD in Europe are not just compliance exercises. They are catalysts for strategic transformation, integrating environmental stewardship and long-term value creation. In Brazil, this shift requires boards to: ➡️ embed climate and nature-related risks and opportunities into their fiduciary duty framework. ➡️ strengthen engagement with technical teams and stakeholders to ensure robust governance. ➡️ recognize the interdependence between climate, nature, and financial materiality. Let us move from "check-the-box" to integrated, forward-looking governance that aligns with our responsibility long-term value creation. How is your board addressing this challenge? Vale's S2 report: https://lnkd.in/dKnn75Ni My full article (in Portuguese): https://lnkd.in/dtWwaCuK #climategovernance #naturegovernance #carbonmarket #compliancecarbonmarket #ets #voluntarycarbonmarket #lowcarboneconomy #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #bioeconomy #sustainableeconomy #sustainability #circulareconomy #climaterisk #climatechange #climateadaptation #climatefinance #climatechangemitigation #climateaction #climate #climateemergency #climatesolutions #climatetech #climategoals #climatechangeadaptation #climatemitigation

Resilience doesn’t start at the moment of impact— it starts in policy meetings, budget decisions, and leadership priorities. This article explores how preparedness is shaped long before any disaster strikes: - Why academic research must inform real-world planning - How governance frameworks define what EM can and can’t achieve - The urgency of integrating climate risk and long-term threats into decision-making Crisis readiness isn’t a checklist—it’s a system design issue. https://lnkd.in/eEs7xMXe #Resilience #EmergencyPreparedness #Governance #SystemDesign #CrisisLeadership