Resilience is a journey, not a destination.
Climate change impacts almost every critical system upon which we depend – such as water, energy and food. It puts security at risk, damages infrastructure, adversely impacts human health and biodiversity, and influences regional and global economies.
For utilities, governments and corporations to effectively enhance their overall resilience to climate change, they can no longer look to the past for solutions. Organizations need to prepare and plan for all risks — including risks that may impact organizational ability to maintain business continuity and remain true stewards in a changing climate — and integrate consideration of those risks into decision-making.
Due to the cascading nature of climate-related risks and their ability to affect multiple systems concurrently, decision-making must take a systems approach.
Strategies to adapt and enhance resilience to climate change should be robust, flexible and able to respond to a wide range of futures. They should be crafted in a holistic, transparent and inclusive way. Frameworks and processes to support organizations in addressing climate change must also be adaptive, and organizations must realize that climate resilience work will require constant monitoring, evaluation and continued action to understand its effectiveness and equitability.