I just received this email from Nancy Murphy at Global Business Network and thought I should pass it along:

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Greetings from all of us at GBN!

As you know, climate change is a critical issue that GBN has been exploring since our founding in 1987. We are pleased to share with you our latest white paper, Impacts of Climate Change: A System Vulnerability Approach to Consider the Potential Impacts to 2050 of a Mid-Upper Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scenario, which was featured in today’s Washington Post column by David Ignatius.

In this paper, co-authors Nils Gilman, Doug Randall, and Peter Schwartz reframe the analysis of climate change impacts for decision makers by beginning with already stressed systems—ecological, cultural, economic, political, and structural—that are vulnerable to being driven past a tipping point by either radical or gradual shifts in climate. By doing so, they offer a novel system vulnerability approach to understand, anticipate, and prepare for the economic, political, business, and security implications of climate change.

The analysis also examines the “human awareness impacts,” where the anticipation of future climate change consequences are factored into decisions made today—before the most extreme weather effects are even felt. Current examples include changes to coastal insurance coverage, energy and water infrastructure, philanthropic priorities, investment criteria, and tax policy. Although the downside effects of climate change will be felt mainly in the long run, the business opportunities associated with mitigating or adapting to climate change are already emerging in the marketplace.

The white paper can be found on our website (www.gbn.com/climatechange), along with links to previous GBN publications and articles on climate change, energy, and infrastructure.

We welcome any thoughts and reactions and look forward to staying in touch!

Best regards,

Nancy