T “I worry that we operate in silos, H E 1 treating environment and human rights 2 T as different elements. Yet these are very H U THESE GLOBAL CHALLENGES EXACERBATE ONE ANOTHER, CREATING N I much linked. A climate crisis is a human T E COMPOUNDING IMPACTS, AND EXPOSING THE FRAGILITY OF THE WORLD rights crisis. A human rights crisis is a D N A T climate crisis.” I O N These global challenges result in even greater and create inequities between the developed Mairead Lavery, S G L O impacts as they compound one another, exposing and developing world. Vaishali Nigam Sinha, President and Chief Executive Officer of Export B A the underlying dependencies – and fragilities – of Chief Sustainability Officer of ReNew Power & Development Canada L C O our current system. Chief Executive Officer of Founding Chair of ReNew Foundation, sums it up, M P A C AXA, Thomas Buberl, adds, “Today, we must face “Governments and global financial institutions T - A discrete challenges, with the added complexity have made promises to fund innovations for C C “Each year, citizens everywhere see E N of the interlinkages between these challenges. the energy transition, but it hasn’t happened. T the increasingly tangible effects of U R The climate crisis will only make things worse.” Developing countries need those funds to bridge climate change. And yet we are still only E C E Below are just three examples of how this is the gap.” experiencing a fraction of the disruption O S T playing out: that lies ahead – more natural disasters, U D GEOPOLITICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE further decline of the earth’s natural Y CLIMATE CHANGE IS INTENSIFYING DEEPENING THE FOOD CRISIS resources, as well as the displacement GLOBAL INEQUALITIES of communities and threats to societal The cascading crises of the war in Ukraine, paired stability. While humanity is resilient, climate change is a crisis we must never Communities are already experiencing climate with the effects of the climate crisis and the let fully unfold.” change impacts, with the poorest, most pandemic are deepening current food shortages climate vulnerable areas being most impacted. – not only destabilizing economies, but risking Eric Rondolat, According to the World Bank, climate change lives and livelihoods. Furthermore, as food is core Chief Executive Officer of Signify left unchecked will push 130 million people into to a functioning society, when food insecurity poverty and could cause upwards of 200 million arises, tensions can mount even further, thereby people in developing economies to be driven from straining geopolitical relations and perpetuating “Global distribution of wealth has their homes due to intensified climate change a vicious cycle. As the World Food Programme become a much more visible challenge impacts and natural disasters.6 notes, “A global food crisis fueled by conflict, in the last couple of years, and To date, 91% of unfortunately the inequities have the global deaths from natural disasters since climate shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic is only continued to widen.” 7 growing because of the ripple effects of the war 1970 have occurred in developing countries. in Ukraine driving rising prices of food, fuel and Sajida Hassan Shroff, Businesses in the developing world desperately fertilizer. Millions of people across the world are Chief Execution Officer of Altamont Group need support – CEOs and regulators alike are at risk of being driven into starvation unless action & EdWorX Consulting 10 calling for urgent action. At the UN General is taken now to respond together and at scale.” Assembly in September, Secretary General António Guterres noted, “Last year in Glasgow, Business leaders are echoing this message, “Equity is an important topic that the developed countries agreed to double adaptation with Unilever’s Chief Executive Officer, Alan business world is not used to handling. funding by 2025. This must be delivered in Jope, commenting, “The current global focus It has often been viewed as the full, as a starting point. Resilience-building in is on energy, but the food system is where the government’s domain. However, now, developing countries is a smart investment – in shock is going to be felt, especially in the Global private companies are re-thinking what reliable supply chains, regional stability, and South.” Shifting commodity prices destabilize the their role should be in the public sphere, and whether it is our job to be addressing 8 orderly migration.” At COP26 in Glasgow, G20 ability of the agriculture industry to deliver basic a topic like equity.” leaders agreed to commit USD 40 billion in ingredients and increase the cost of production climate financing to the developing world, but the for various industries using agricultural inputs, Geraldine Matchett, funding is yet to arrive. A year later, at COP27 in impacting food accessibility and affordability. Co-CEO and Member of the Managing Board of Royal DSM Sharm El-Sheikh, a breakthrough agreement was ADM’s Chairman & CEO, Juan Luciano, adds, reached to provide “loss and damage” funding for “Good nutrition is key to a number of health countries hit hard by climate disasters.9 However, challenges and access to nutrition is key to until the funding arrives, climate change impacts unlocking progress on social issues, such as “I don’t think that we can actually solve will continue to further drive economic divides inequality or education. Food is the foundation.” climate change if we don’t solve inequality.” Peter Oosterveer, 6. World Bank (2021) When poverty meets climate change: A critical challenge that demands cross-cutting solutions. Chief Executive Officer of Arcadis NV 7. World Meteorological Organization (2021) Weather-related disasters increase over past 50 years, causing more damage but fewer deaths. 8. The United Nations (2022) Secretary-General’s address to the General Assembly 9. UNFCCC (2022) COP27 Reaches Breakthrough Agreement 22 on New “Loss and Damage” Fund for Vulnerable Countries 10. World Food Programme (2022) War in Ukraine drives global food crisis. 23