Risky business

Having read the raw material from the UN's IPCC 5th assessment report I also had a look at some of the comments that various people have been made following its publication. Generally, the majority of the comments were supportive.  A good example would be the Scotsman's editorial which in a lengthy and thoughtful piece said "Even if not totally convinced by the scientific evidence, surely the prudent course of action for us all is to act to counter global warming because it is just to big a gamble. Living on our planet in a sustainable way is the only path that makes any sense." On a similar theme I also liked this one from Professor John Shepherd of Southampton University. He said "Uncertainty is a reason to be cautious, but not a reason to do nothing. On the contrary, uncertainty is a reason for taking action to avoid possible serious risks."

Taking a business perspective has always led me to the same conclusion. The risks of doing nothing are just too high because both the evidence that climate change will continue is strong and because the consequences of that change are so serious. If you were plotting a heat map of global risks then climate change has to be near the top right corner given its likelihood and impact. Boards rightly focus on these top right risks and so should Governments.