KPMG claims six industry sectors should be alert over climate change risks

Six major industry sectors are in particular danger from climate change risks, claims

professional services organization KPMG today.

Aviation, healthcare, tourism, transport, oil and gas and the financial services sector all

feature in the “danger zone” in a report on climate change risks from KPMG1 – meaning

that they score highly on the risks which face them yet score poorly in terms of their

preparedness to face these risks.

In addition, KPMG claims that the 18 sectors included in the report – even the three

deemed to be in the “safe area” – are not sufficiently prepared to deal with the new risks

associated with climate change.

The climate change risks that companies should be paying more attention to are physical,

regulatory and reputational risks as well as the emerging risk of litigation; yet the scope

and potential impact of these risks appears to be under-estimated across all sectors.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Barend van Bergen, a Director of KPMG

Sustainability which produced the new report, said: “We have looked at business sectors

right across the global economy and we found that there are huge differences between

sectors in terms of the relation between climate change risks and risk preparedness.

Industries may be relatively safe, they may be in the danger zone, or they may be in

between - but wherever they are, risks tend to be underestimated.”

The report, entitled “Climate Changes Your Business” is some of the most

comprehensive analysis of its kind to date. Its findings are based on a review of 50

authoritative published studies addressing the business risks and economic impacts of

climate change at sector level. The published reports have been analyzed and a ‘risk

score’ for each sector has been assessed. At the same time, the business sectors have been

rated according to their preparedness for climate change impacts.

More information.