Introduction to the Science of Climate Change

Section A: Critical Reflections

Critical Reflection 1:

Chapter 3: Natural resources by Lemmen, D. S., Johnston, M., Ste-Marie, C., & Pearce, T. (2014) (In F. J. Warren & D. S. Lemmen (Eds.), Canada in a changing climate: Sector perspectives on impacts and adaptation, pp. 210-213).

Climate change continues to pose a huge risk to natural resource exploitation in the 21^st century. Analyzing the chapter on ‘natural resources’ by Lemmen, Johnston, Ste-Marie, and Pearce (2014), one can identify the antecedents of natural resource exploitation and the risks that the world is facing today. Sector perspectives indicate that energy is at the biggest risk due to shifts in natural resource endowments across the world. The economic significance of natural resources weighs heavily against the sustainability domain, and nations are trying to create a model that will guarantee the safety of communities relying on those resources. The climate sensitivity of natural resources is an issues of particular concern, considering that climate change has hit the world so hard in the past two decades. The productivity of regions has decreased even as an increasing human population creates pressure on existing resources. For instance, the impact of climate change on mining, forestry, and energy sectors in Canada is phenomenal, and the country has been striving to create adaptation actions through systematic utility strategies.

Furthermore, changes in species distribution and the interaction of human-induced stresses with disturbance regimes would adversely affect natural resources in the future. Sustainability is an adaptation model which seeks to foster the use of today’s resources in a way that would not compromise the ability of future generations to enjoy them.  Connecting protected areas and restoring degraded ecosystems is part of the process of adaptation that is key to the preservation of natural resources. Planning for adaptation would entail building knowledge to support the processes and engaging communities on the ideals of adaptation. Building the collaboration framework for the protection of natural resources is vital to ensuring the adaptation actions succeed.

Critical Reflection 2:

Case study 3: The Whistler Blackcomb adaptation plan by Kovacs, P., & Thistlethwaite, J. (2014). (In F. J. Warren & D. S. Lemmen (Eds.), Canada in a changing climate: Sector perspectives on impacts and adaptation, p. 149))

The risks of climate change on the operational model of business across all sectors are high, and there is a need for firms to formulate and implement feasible actions to ensure that they remain profitable. Analyzing the case of The Whistler Blackcomb, one can realize the essence and need for adaptation actions against the backdrop of reducing incentives of performance the environment today. The success of Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is contingent on a stable climate (Kovacs and Thistlethwaite, 2014). This is the case for all other resorts seeking to attract a large number of tourists to their destinations. The first step into formulating a feasible adaptation plan for a business is to understand the risks involved by conducting a thorough risk assessment on how climate change will affect all facets of business performance. Creating a model that will maximize the available incentives of performance is critical to the entire model of performance. Moreover, in a business world that is becoming increasingly competitive, businesses must understand the actions that would foster the best outcomes in their value chain models.

The Whistler Blackcomb has formulated an action area in which it seeks to double the snowmaking capacity and optimize the snow cover by reducing the impacts of warm weather. Service differentiation is an element of market growth and profitability that the business had to sustain. Climate change has shifted competition to the sustainability paradigm. Therefore, for businesses to maintain their competitive advantage, they must design and adopt adaptation actions that are in synch with the demands for sustainability. Scholars often refer to this model as a ‘sustainability competition.’ Generally, the outcomes of the assessment phase influence the decision on adaptation and the direction of the trajectory phase. Managers in businesses must maintain a vision of sustainability and growth that is informed by the pressure and demands of climate change because it is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored at any cost.

Critical Reflection 3:

British Columbia by Walker, I.J. and Sydneysmith, R. (2008): (In D. S. Lemmen, F. J. Warren, J. LaCroix, and E. Bush, From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007: Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, pp.329-386).

British Columbia is one of the provinces in Canada that has drawn wide interests in the discussion of the effects of climate change and the adaptation actions that are ideal for the nation. The region is largely dependent on agricultural production, and the shifts in weather patterns have significantly affected its growth capacity. According to Walker and Sydneysmith (2008), soil resilience and productivity has significantly reduced, and the region is now in danger of experiencing a critical decline in its food production. The impact of climate change in the region is typical of the effect experienced in many other places across the world. As the population increases, the pressure on food and natural resources will increase. According to projections from the report titled “from impact to adaptation,” water will be scarce in large parts of Canada, and this will affect the crop growing capacities in the region. Climate change adaptation must be integrated into decision making to offer nations and regions “the opportunity to enhance their resilience and reduce the long-term costs and impacts of climate change” (Walker & Sydneysmith, 2008, p.332).

Adaptation to climate change today is more of a necessity than a discretionary choice. The forces in nature are pushing people to the periphery of decision making. Some people and organizations have resorted to adaptation and sustainability actions as a means of survival rather than noble practices of preserving an ecosystem for the future. It has become increasingly evident that humans must not live for themselves: To live for self is self-destruction. The balance in the ecosystem demands that humans, alongside natural flora and fauna, must co-exist in a critical balance. Sustainable strategies and adaptation actions are only a reflection of the approaches that humans should have accepted a long time before in the interest of a secure future. While the situation is not entirely hopeless, the recourse demands much more than just maintaining sustainable strategies: change demands creation of alternative forms of maintaining business performance.

Section B: Essay

Introduction

Climate change has adversely affected all facets of human existence, growth, and survival. The risks and adverse effects of climate change have remained a subject of debate among conservationists and business scholars for over two decades now. According to Henderson, Reinert, Dekhtyar, and Migdal (2018), the consequences of global warming are severe, and the incentives of production using natural resources have greatly reduced. Economists continue to affirm that the benefits of reducing global warming and climate change would far exceed the costs. Reducing emissions would offer the world a ‘second chance’ to boost and sustain a healthy ecosystem. In the recent past, studies have also pointed to an increasing appreciation of the psychological impacts of climate change associated with adverse occurrences such as global warming, flooding, and droughts. However, the context of indirect impacts is the least studied in the literature. That notwithstanding, the adverse effects of global warming are apparent, and the need for adaptation in all domains of life and sectors of the economy is a reality.

Discussion

The relationship between climate change and social inequality is one that has gained significant acknowledgment. According to Islam and Winkel (2017), using a multi-dimensional concept of social inequality, poverty is inherently linked to the environmental disincentives associated with changes in the climate. For instance, climate change has led to many systematic floods and droughts, which have worsened the standards of living in some countries. The occurrence of natural disasters affects disadvantaged communities more than affluent neighborhoods leading to growing margins between the rich and the poor. Further, as observed by Henderson, et al. (2018), changing weather patterns have adversely reduced the potential of agricultural communities to be productive, as some regions experience erratic rains while others long durations of drought. Pressure on water and food has created wide insecurity in low-income nations, and the situation may not be better any soon.

Adaptation to climate change is an alternative that any nation cannot afford to ignore. Ihemezie, Onunka, and Nnaji (2018) underscore that “climate change adaptation (CCA) has, in the recent past, become a watchword in many international organizations and development agencies such as the United Nations (UN).” There are concerted efforts to improve the individual and household adaptation approaches in order to galvanize the model of sustainability that nations are seeking to realize. As the international community is pushing for nations to reduce emissions through a de-carbonization campaign, the institutions are creating awareness of renewable energies and sustainable strategies of production to enable households to adapt to the change. Ihemezie, Onunka, and Nnaji (2018) evaluate different types of adaptations and their efficacies against the underlying variables in nature. The adaptations include planned adaptations, anticipatory adaptations, and reactive adaptations. Combining the efficacies of planned and anticipatory adaptations would foster the best outcomes in the management of climate change. Autonomous adaptations have always been viewed as “short-term climatic stimuli,” and the actions emanating from these aspects have not fostered the required adjustments.

Generally, the lack of adequate understanding of the integrals of adapting to climate change has hindered effectiveness in the adaptation models. Leading actors in the change model need greater insight to reduce the vulnerability of nations and communities to the risks of climate change. Households must receive enough motivation to adopt sustainable practices as opposed to their reaction to the fears of climate change. The adaptation model for climate change must not focus on the interests of self-preservation but the common good for humanity. Ihemezie, Onunka, and Nnaji (2018) assert that the perceived self-efficacy and severity of a threatening event have adversely affected the adoption of adaptation strategies. There is, therefore, a need to create feasible motivation models that would foster the adaptations and inspire the right attitudes among all stakeholders to the concept of climate change.

Conclusion

Climate change is an issue of global concern that demands immediate action from all stakeholders. Sustainability as a component of adaptation to climate change has critical values that each player must seek to adopt. The preservation of natural resources is an issue at stake, and nations must formulate and implement key strategies to move the protection strategies to new levels of efficiency. The impact of climate change transcends all domains of life. Evidence from the study suggests that the benefits of managing climate change and global warming are greater than the costs associated. There is no reason why governments must not make ecosystem protection a priority today.

References

Henderson, R. M., Reinert, S. A., Dekhtyar, P., & Migdal, A. (2018). Climate change in 2018: Implications for business. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Ihemezie, E. J., Onunka, C. N., & Nnaji, A. P. (2018). Drivers and socioeconomic factors influencing individual and household adaptation to climate change: A case study of residents of Leeds, UK. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 10(9), 279-291.

Islam, S. N., & Winkel, J. (2017). Climate change and social inequality. DESA Working Paper No. 152, 1-32.

Kovacs, P., & Thistlethwaite, J. (2014). Case study 3: The Whistler Blackcomb adaptation plan. In F. J. Warren & D. S. Lemmen (Eds.), Canada in a changing climate: Sector perspectives on impacts and adaptation, Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 149. Retrieved from the Government of Canada website: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/assess/2014/pdf/Full-Report_Eng.pdf

Lemmen, D.S., Johnston, M., Ste-Marie, C. and Pearce, T. (2014): Natural resources: In F. J. Warren and D. S. Lemmen (Eds.), Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation, Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 65-98.

Walker, I. J., and Sydneysmith, R. (2008): British Columbia: In D. S. Lemmen, F. J. Warren, J. LaCroix, and E. Bush (Eds.), From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007; Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, p. 329-386.