The document discusses approaches to climate change, focusing on adaptation and mitigation strategies, and their impact on businesses. It outlines the importance of financial and policy instruments like the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal in addressing climate change issues. Key mitigation measures include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing energy efficiency, and adapting infrastructure to withstand climate-related risks.

2. TOO4TO MODULE
Climate Change and Sustainability
Part 2: Present approaches to climatic change mitigation and adaptation
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3. PART 2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To understand two approaches to dealing with climate change: adaptation and
mitigation.
• To explore how the climate change may influence businesses.
• To familiarize with the financial and policy instruments that set the course of
actions and provide necessary support.
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4. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADAPTATION & MITIGATION
• Definitions
• Strategies
• Measures
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
ON BUSINESSES
• Risk
• Opportunities
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FINANCIAL & POLICY INSTRUMENTS
• Paris Agreement
• European Green Deal
• EU Taxonomy
• EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate
Change
• EU ETS
• COP27

5. CAN WE SUPPORT NATURE
TO HELP EVERYONE?
Let’s check
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6. ADAPTATION & MITIGATION
Definitions; Strategies and Measures
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7. ADAPTATION VS MITIGATION
Definitions
Adaptation - adjustment
to the current or anticipated
future environment. It
examines how to lessen
negative impacts of climate
change and seize any
possibilities that may come.
Mitigation - actions taken
to slow down the climate
change by reducing the
amount of heat trapping
greenhouse gases entering
the atmosphere.
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8. 8
ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
Communities' ability to adapt to climate change will rely on the extent to
which it affects the area in which it is located, as well as on its access to
resources both financial and technological.
Reduction of risks of:
• sea-level rise;
• more intense extreme
weather conditions;
• food scarcity.
Taking advantage of:
• longer growing seasons;
• increased yields in some
regions.
Source

9. ADAPTATION STRATEGIES – E.G. PREVENTING
FLOOD DAMAGE
• levees and seawalls can reduce flooding in coastal regions;
• wetlands can be constructed to protect coast;
• improved stormwater drainage can help to drain excess
precipitation during storms and prevent cities from flooding;
• changing the construction of houses by raising them on stilts
or floating houses may help protecting against flooding.
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10. ADAPTATION STRATEGIES – E.G. ADAPTING TO
HEAT
• changing the construction of building with:
• more insulation;
• efficient cooling technologies;
• green roofs;
• planting more trees to get more shade.
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11. 11
MITIGATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

12. 12
MITIGATION STRATEGIES (1/2)
Reduction of energy
consumption
• carbon taxes;
• increasing awareness of the concept of
community energy;
• changing lifestyle – reducing the impact on
climate change by daily choices of
transport, consumers goods and services;
• efficiency standards for household
appliances;
• fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.
Reduction of emission of NOx
and CH4 from agriculture
• limit the use of chemical fertilizer;
• limit the intensive livestock farming.
Mitigation aims to cut down the green house gases emission
(GHGs).

13. 13
MITIGATION STRATEGIES (2/2)
Changing fossil fuel to
its alternatives:
• photovoltaic cells;
• wind turbines;
• hydroelectric power plants;
• solar panels;
• geothermal;
• tidal power.
Management
strategies:
• personal – choosing the energy-
efficiency products;
• local – local government plans
that aims to reduce or eliminate
risk to people from town, city or
country;
• global – intergovernmental and
international agreement.

14. 14
MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR CO2 REMOVAL (1/2)
• Strengthen the natural reservoir that collect and hold CO2 such
as: oceans, forests and soil;
• Remove CO2 from the atmosphere by the carbon capture
storage (CCS);
• Use biomass as a fuel;
• Enhance mineralization of oceans to increase CO2 absorption.
Source

15. 15
MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR CO2 REMOVAL (2/2)
Source

16. MITIGATION MEASURES
„Mitigation measures provide for a system to reduce, avoid or offset the potential
adverse environmental consequences of development activities. Their objective is to
maximise project benefits and minimise undesirable impacts. Such mitigation
measures can be in the form of preventative, corrective or compensatory measures.
Prevention means that the potential impact is prevented or reduced before it occurs.
Corrective measures reduce the impact to a level which is acceptable. If preventative or
corrective measures fail, then compensatory measures are applied. They will compensate
for the unavoidable impact.”
Definition presented by European Commission
Source
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17. 17
MITIGATION MEASURES – E.G. SEA LEVEL RISE
• Map and evaluate Sea Level Rise vulnerability.
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• Control development in potentially hazardous areas by land
use planning.
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• Avoid infrastructure growth in high-risk areas.
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• Acquire, destroy or relocate buildings from high-risk areas or
retrofit structure to raise them above sea level.
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• Save open space to protect the environment and decrease
the risk of future sea level rise on constructions.
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• Safeguard and replenish natural buffers.
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• Increase public understanding of concerns associated with
sea level rise.
7 Link to other examples

18. IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON
BUSINESSES
Risks & Opportunities
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19. 19
RISKS RELATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE ON
BUSINESS
• Physical: operational effects of harsh weather conditions;
supply problems brought by water scarcity;
• Transition: changes in markets, technologies, and
regulations can raise operating costs and threaten the
profitability of already available goods and services;
• GHGs emission reduction targets: in recent years, an
increasing number of legal actions have been taken directly
against fossil fuel businesses and utilities.

20. 20
OPPORTUNITIES RELATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
ON BUSINESS
• Increasing energy efficiency: reduce the cost and improve
the resource productivity;
• Driving force for innovation: it forces a need for less
carbon intensive products and services;
• More resilient supply chain: lowering reliance on fossil
fuels and switching to renewable energy sources, which are
more stable in terms of price.
All of them increase competitiveness and help to explore new
market opportunities.

21. FOUR KEY MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINES RELATED
TO CLIMATE CHANGE
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Read more

22. FINANCIAL & POLICY INSTRUMENTS
Paris Agreement; European Green Deal; EU Taxonomy; EU Strategy on
Adaptation to Climate Change; EU ETS; COP27
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23. 23
PARIS AGREEMENT
While for the first time encouraging voluntary contributions from other
Parties, the Paris Agreement emphasizes developed countries' duties
to assist developing country Parties in constructing clean, climate-
resilient futures. Developed country Parties agree to report on financing
already provided and to provide indicative information on future support,
including estimated amounts of public financing, every two years.
The Green Climate Fund is a fund established under the UNFCCC as an
operating unit of the Financial Mechanism.
Read more

24. 24
PARIS AGREEMENT – GREEN CLIMATE FUND (GFC)
GCF is required to provide 50% of its resources in
grant equivalents to adaptation and 50%
to mitigation. The most climate-vulnerable nations
must get at least half of the money allocated for
adaptation (Least Developed Countries (LDCs),
Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African
States). In order to reduce potential trade-offs
between adaptation and mitigation, GCF tries to
maximize synergies.
In 2020, GCF took the lead in approving projects for
climate finance ($2.2 billion out of $3.4 billion total).
The GCF approved new climate initiatives worth
around $3 billion in 2021. It is anticipated to expand
quickly; by 2023, the portfolio might total $13 billion.
The growth in the number of projects financed by GCF.
Read more

25. 25
EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL
• The European Green Deal is a package of legislative proposals put out by the
European Commission with the main goal of achieving climate neutrality in Europe
by the year 2050.
• In addition to strengthening adaptation efforts, establishing a process to lay out and
review a trajectory until 2050, regular assessment, and a process in case of
insufficient progress or inconsistencies, the proposal seeks to complement the current
policy framework by establishing the long-term direction of travel and ensuring the
2050 climate-neutrality objective in EU law.
• Consequential adjustments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the
Energy Union and Climate Action have been added to ensure compliance.
Read more

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EU TAXONOMY
The EU taxonomy is a classification system that creates a list
of economically viable ecologically sustainable activities in
order to help reach the objectives of the European Green Deal.
• To assist investors in making green investments, six
environmental objectives have been defined.
• An action must support at least one aim, Do No Significant
Harm (DNSH) to any other objectives, and adhere to
minimum social protections in order to be taxonomically
matched.
• Companies must start disclosing the percentage of their total
revenue, capital expenditures, and operating expenses in
FY'22 that is taxonomy eligible starting in 2022.
Read more
Environmental objectives of EU taxonomy.
Source

27. 27
EU STRATEGY ON ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE
CHANGE
The new policy outlines how the European Union can adjust to the
inevitable effects of climate change and become climate resilient by
2050.
The main goals of the Strategy are:
• to increase worldwide action on climate change adaptation;
• to make adaptation more:
o intelligent;
o quick;
o systemic.
Read more

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EU EMMISSION TRADING SYSTEM (EU ETS) (1/2)
The EU ETS is a crucial component of the EU's strategy to tackle climate
change and its main tool for cutting GHGs emissions in an efficient and
cost-effective manner.
Accounts for about 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions
in the EU.
Controls emissions from around 10,000 manufacturing and
power sector installations, as well as airlines that fly
between these nations.
It runs in every EU member state as well as Iceland,
Liechtenstein, and Norway (EEA-EFTA states).
Read more

29. 29
EU EMMISSION TRADING SYSTEM (EU ETS)(2/2)
The EU ETS include the following industries and gases, concentrating on
emissions that can be accurately measured, reported, and confirmed:
▪ CO2 from:
▪ electricity and heat generation;
▪ energy-intensive industry sectors;
▪ commercial flight in the European economic area;
▪ nitrous oxide (N2O) from production of nitric, adipic and glyoxylic acids
and glyoxal;
▪ perfluorocarbons (PFCs) from production of aluminum.
Companies operating in these areas are required to participate in the
EU ETS.
Read more

30. 30
COP27
COP27 was the 27th United Nations Climate Change
Conference, held from 6 to 20 November 2022 in Sharm El
Sheikh, Egypt. About 35,000 representatives from 190
nations, including 92 heads of state, attended.
Aims of COP27:
Mitigation
achieve the target of
keeping global warming to
2°C
Adaptation
strengthening resiliency
Finance
meet the target of $100
billion annually by 2025
Collaboration
ensure representation of all
stakeholders, particularly
vulnerable communities
EU position:
• collectively strengthen
national contributions;
• all parties have eliminated
unproductive fossil fuel
subsidies and phased out
unabated coal use;
• all nations have intensified
their initiatives to raise
finance for climate action.
Read more

31. 31
COP27 FINANCE
The focus of COP27 will
be on advancing climate
finance, notably the unmet
pledge of $100 billion
annually made in 2009 to
support developing
nations.
Read more

32. THUS, CAN WE SUPPORT
NATURE TO HELP
EVERYONE?
YES! ☺
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33. Additional reading
Short video - climate change mitigation vs adaptation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5_upZdHGFQ (3:35 min)
Inter-relationships between adaptation and mitigation
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ar4-wg2-chapter18-1.pdf
The European Green Deal Investment Plan and Just Transition Mechanism
explained, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_24
How climate change will impact business everywhere
https://www.zurich.com/en/knowledge/topics/climate-change/how-climate-change-
will-impact-business-everywhere
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34. Self-study question
• Which mitigation or adaptation fits better to the concept of
sustainable development? Justify your answer.
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