Climate change risk disclosure and non-GAAP earnings

Facilitating Climate-Smart Investments

Research Summary This article examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms' exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate change risks, especially if initiated by institutional investors, and even more so if initiated by long‐term institutional investors. We also find that companies that voluntarily disclose climate change risks following environmental shareholder activism achieve a higher valuation postdisclosure, suggesting that investors value transparency with respect to firms' exposure to climate change risks. Managerial Summary Climate change poses increasing risks to companies. Yet, despite the growing importance of climate change risks, little is known about companies' exposure to climate change risks, their disclosure of these risks, and what strategic actions they take to manage and mitigate these risks. In this study, we examine whether—in the absence of mandatory disclosure—shareholders can elicit greater corporate transparency with respect to climate change risks. We find that shareholder activism is effective, especially if initiated by long‐term institutional investors. We also find that the stock market reacts positively to companies' climate risk disclosure following environmental shareholder activism, suggesting that investors value transparency with respect to firms' exposure to climate change risks.

Climate change is intensifying natural hazards, significantly increasing financial risks for businesses and stakeholders. This shift in physical risk is transforming companies' risk-return profiles and driving the need for transparent risk disclosure, in line with the guidelines from the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD; now further developed as IFRS S2). Despite many companies beginning to disclose risks, standardization efforts by regulatory bodies are still evolving. The varied and proprietary nature of climate risk information from commercial providers has hindered transparency and accessibility in risk scoring. This complicates the comparison and evaluation of risks, as well as the aggregation of risks at the portfolio level. Additionally, the scarcity of natural catastrophe models in non-OECD countries and the need for a globally consistent framework incorporating future climate scenarios pose further challenges.Our study introduces an event-based reporting approach to address these challenges in climate risk disclosure. Companies are required to report modeled financial impacts of standardized hazard sets, including both gross and net risks due to their insurance protection. This method offers a solid foundation for risk metrics, risk-return profiling, and inter-comparison of risks at both individual company and portfolio levels. Leveraging CLIMADA (CLIMate ADAptation), an open-source climate risk assessment platform, we create a globally consistent, interoperable framework with reference hazard event sets for main perils under current and future climate conditions, accessible through a data API. By applying this method to the balance sheets of hypothetical multinational companies, we effectively assess financial risks and perform risk-return analyses, demonstrating the approach's practicality and potential in climate risk management and disclosure. We show, for instance, the potential for evaluating sectoral and cross-sectoral risk, which is only visible in the cross-company risk profile, and how portfolio risks due to spatial correlations can be captured.

Cities are at the forefront of the battle against climate change. We are the source of approximately 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And as the climate changes, densely populated urban areas—particularly coastal cities—–will disproportionately feel the impacts. Those of us in local government recognize the importance of national and international leadership on climate change. But we are not waiting for others to act first. Under PlaNYC, New York City's comprehensive sustainability plan, most of our efforts have focused on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives including the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, which will increase energy efficiency of existing buildings, and retrofitting ferries to use cleaner fuel, will help us meet our goal of reducing the city's emissions by 30% by 2030. These actions alone, however, will not stop climate change. We already face climate risks today, including heat waves, blackouts, flooding, and coastal storms. With climate change these risks will only increase. To ensure that New York City is resilient to existing and future climate risks, we must take further action. Through a generous contribution from the Rockefeller Foundation, I convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), which gathered the leading climate change scientists, academics, and insurance, risk management and legal experts. These experts helped develop a framework and tools to assist the City create a risk-based response to climate change that is grounded in state-of-the-art science information. In February 2009, the NPCC released the most detailed climate risk information for any major city in the world; this volume of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences presents the NPCC's full findings. The NPCC climate change projections put numbers to what we already know: climate change is real and could have serious consequences for New York if we do not take action. I appreciate the hard work of the members of the New York City Panel on Climate Change. Through PlaNYC, the City will build on their work as we craft strategies to improve the city's resilience to climate. Building climate resilience can take many forms, including increasing our understanding of climate risks and vulnerabilities, hardening facilities and assets to prevent impacts, educating vulnerable populations about risks, and ensuring that we can quickly resume operations after weather events occur. In the coming months, the New York City Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, another PlaNYC initiative, will release a plan detailing how Task Force members will prepare the city's critical infrastructure for warmer temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and rising sea levels. Planning for climate change today is less expensive than rebuilding an entire network after a catastrophe. We simply can't wait to plan for the effects of climate change. The NPCC and Rockefeller Foundation's contributions to the City's climate resilience efforts will help ensure that we create a greener, greater New York for future generations. In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg established the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), with the mandate to provide New York City with the most up-to-date and comprehensive scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information about climate change and its impacts on the city and environs. Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response is the first report of the NPCC. The report will help New York City develop, adopt, and implement policies to adapt the city's critical infrastructure to the changing climate. This NPCC report outlines a powerful and novel framework for deploying sophisticated tools of risk management to address the city's climate adaptation challenges, and details with rigor and insight the critical challenges that climate change poses to New York City's energy, transportation, water, and communications systems. The report also presents a coordinated set of climate projections prepared by the NPCC to be used by the many public agencies and private-sector organizations that manage critical infrastructure in the region as they develop adaptation strategies, and it describes how legal and regulatory tools can support adaptation policies. The challenges facing the insurance industry and the use of insurance to reduce climate risks are also described at length. A final section sets forth the indicators and monitoring activities needed to inform Flexible Adaptation Pathways as the City and region move forward. The NPCC report is the product of the committed scientists and experts in the New York City region who served as authors, led by Co-chairs Cynthia Rosenzweig and William Solecki. The dedicated Science and Policy Team at the Columbia Earth Institute and the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities organized the process that has resulted in the production of this landmark report. It is becoming recognized throughout the world that cities have a crucial role to play in responding to climate change. The NPCC 2010 Report puts climate change adaptation in New York City in the broader national and international contexts and helps establish New York City as a thought and policy leader in this urgent endeavor. Climate Change Adaptation in New York City will be widely read around the world, both for its specific insights and also as a roadmap for other cities in preparing plans for climate change adaptation. The work of the NPCC is a pioneering activity for which all New Yorkers, and all others around the world who will benefit, should be most grateful. The Rockefeller Foundation also merits our gratitude for the generous support it has provided to this endeavor. Climate change will have a profound impact on New York City and its residents as it alters environmental baselines on which the urban infrastructure was built. Despite this, both the City and its stakeholders have a wide range of tools and resources with which to respond to the problem. Key insights in the following report derive from the highly integrated connections between science and public policy as they relate to climate change. The New York City Panel on Climate Change, for example, comprises a number of scientists and other technical experts capable of considering the issues at hand with a view to understanding the potential impacts of climate change and options for adaptation. The City University of New York is well placed to contribute to the multifaceted complex questions of climate change and how the city will be affected. This requires a multidisciplinary approach that can draw from the deep resources of the colleges that make up our institution. In addition, the New York City Panel on Climate Change had ongoing, continuous, and fruitful communication with the Mayor's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, and the New York City Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. The collaborations brought forward in this document embody the culmination of a first step in a science–policy linkage that will be required to effectively address climate change in New York City. In addition, these collaborations show how great universities in a great city can link together to make a positive difference in the lives of its citizens.

The scientific community agrees that climate change is happening, is largely human induced, and will have serious consequences for human health (Field and others 2014). The health consequences of climate variability and change are diverse, potentially affecting the burden of a wide range of health outcomes. Changing weather patterns can affect the magnitude and pattern of morbidity and mortality from extreme weather and climate events, and from changing concentrations of ozone, particulate matter, and aeroallergens (Smith and others 2014). Changing weather patterns and climatic shifts may also create environmental conditions that facilitate alterations in the geographic range, seasonality, and incidence of some infectious diseases in some regions, such as the spread of malaria into highland areas in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Changes in water availability and agricultural productivity could affect undernutrition, particularly in some parts of Africa and Asia (Lloyd, Kovats, and Chalabi 2011). Although climate change will likely increase positive health outcomes in some regions, the overall balance will be detrimental for health and well-being, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries that experience higher burdens of climate-sensitive health outcomes (Smith and others 2014).The pathways between climate change and health outcomes are often complex and indirect, making attribution challenging. Climate change may not be the most important driver of climate-sensitive health outcomes over the next few decades but could be significant past the middle of this century. Climate change is a stress multiplier, putting pressure on vulnerable systems, populations, and regions. For example, temperature is associated with the incidence of some food- and water-borne diseases that are significant sources of childhood mortality (Smith and others 2014). Reducing the burden of these diseases requires improved access to safe water and improved sanitation. Poverty is a primary driver underlying the health risks of climate change (Smith and others 2014). Poverty alleviation programs could improve the capacity of health systems to manage risks and reduce the overall costs of a changing climate.Climate change entails other unique challenges:Significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) in the next few years will be critical to preventing more severe climate change later in the century, but they will have limited effects on weather patterns in the short term. In terms of costing, another complexity is that these policies and technologies are associated with short-term health benefits (Garcia-Menendez and others 2015).Reducing and managing health risks over the next few decades will require modifying health systems to prepare for, cope with, and recover from the health consequences of climate variability and change; these changes are part of what is termed adaptation. Adaptation will be required across the century, with the extent of mitigation being a key determinant of health systems’ ability to manage risks projected later in the century (Smith and others 2014). No matter the success of adaptation and mitigation, residual risks from climate change will burden health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).Given these complexities, estimating the costs of managing the health risks of climate variability and change is not straightforward. The wide range of health outcomes potentially affected means counting (1) costs associated with increased health care and public health interventions for morbidity and mortality from a long list of climate-sensitive health outcomes; (2) costs associated with lost work days and lower productivity; and (3) costs associated with well-being. Costs could also accrue from repeated episodes of malaria, diarrhea, or other infectious diseases that affect childhood development and health in later life. Costs associated with actions taken in other sectors are also important for health, such as access to safe water and improved sanitation. A portion of the costs of managing the health risks associated with migrants and environmental refugees could be, but has not been, counted.Further, costs and benefits will be displaced over time, with costs associated with increased health burdens occurring now because of past greenhouse gas emissions and benefits occurring later in the century because of mitigation implemented in the next few years. A few preliminary estimates have been made of the costs of adaptation. However, more work is needed to understand how climate variability and change could affect the ability of health systems to manage risks over long temporal scales.This chapter reviews the health risks of climate variability and change, discusses key components of those risks, summarizes the attributes of climate-resilient health systems, provides an overview of the costs of increasing health resilience that arise from other sectors, reviews temporal and spatial scale issues, and summarizes key conclusions regarding the costs of the health risks of climate change.

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the adequacy of climate risk disclosure by providing empirical evidence on whether corporate disclosure meets rising stakeholders’ demand for risk disclosure concerning climate change.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a triangulated approach for collecting data from multiple sources in a longitudinal study, we perform a panel regression analysis on a sample of multinational firms between 2007 and 2021. Inspired by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles, our innovative and inclusive model of measuring firm-level climate risks underscores the urgent need to redefine materiality from a broader value creation (rather than only financial) perspective, including the impact on sustainable development.FindingsThe findings of this study provide evidence of limited corporate climate risk disclosure, indicating that organisations have yet to accept the reality of climate-related risks. An additional finding supports the existence of a nexus between higher corporate environmental disclosure and higher corporate resilience to material financial and environmental risks, rather than pervasive sustainability risk disclosure.Practical implicationsWe argue that a mechanical process for climate-related risk disclosure can limit related disclosure variability, risk reporting priority selection, thereby broadening the short-term perspective on financial materiality assessment for disclosure.Social implicationsThis study extends recent literature on the adequacy of corporate risk disclosure, highlighting the importance of disclosing material sustainability risks from the perspectives of different stakeholder groups for long-term success. Corporate management should place climate-related risks at the centre of their disclosure strategies. We argue that reducing the systematic underestimation of climate-related risks and variations in their disclosure practices may require regulations that enhance corporate perceptions and responses to these risks.Originality/valueThis study emphasises the importance of reconceptualising materiality from a multidimensional value creation standpoint, encapsulating financial and sustainable development considerations. This novel model of assessing firm-level climate risk, based on the GRI principles, underscores the necessity of developing a more comprehensive approach to evaluating materiality.

يتناول هذا البحث تقديم إطار مقترح للإفصاح عن مخاطر تغيرات المناخ بالقوائم المالية، وأهمية ذلك في ترشيد قرارات المستثمرين، ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تناول البحث عرض لمفهوم مخاطر تغيرات المناخ وأنواعها المختلفة (مادية ــ انتقالية) وتأثير تلك المخاطر على نتائج الأعمال بشكل سلبي، مع توضيح وشرح لمفهوم الفرص المصاحبة لمخاطر تغيرات المناخ وكيفية استثمار تلك الفرص لتحقيق رغبات المستثمرين في تحقيق عائد مادي أعلى ومخاطر أقل، ودراسة تحليلية لمشكلات الإفصاح المحاسبي عن مخاطر تغيرات المناخ بالقوائم المالية، مع دراسة الاتجاهات الحديثة للإفصاح المحاسبي عن مخاطر تغيرات المناخ، وتقديم إطار مقترح للإفصاح عن تلك المخاطر بالقوائم المالية يساعد المستثمرين في اتخاذ قرارات استثمارية رشيدة، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى إمكانية تطبيق الإطار المقترح في حال توافر متطلبات نجاح هذا الإطار المقترح، كما خلصت الدراسة إلى أنه باستخدام الإطار المقترح يتحقق الإفصاح المحاسبي السليم عن مخاطر تغيرات المناخ والفرص المصاحبة لها بالقوائم المالية، بالشكل الذي يلبي طلبات المستثمرين في ترشيد قراراتهم الاستثمارية.This research deals with presenting a proposed framework for disclosing climate change risks in financial statements, and the importance of that in rationalizing investors’ decisions. To achieve the objectives of the study, the research deals with a presentation of the concept of climate change risks and their various types (transitional material) and the impact of those risks on business results in a negative way, with an explanation and clarification of the concept. The opportunities associated with climate change risks and how to invest these opportunities to achieve investors’ desires to achieve higher financial returns and lower risks, and an analytical study of the problems of accounting disclosure of climate change risks in financial statements, with a study of recent trends in accounting disclosure of climate change risks, and presenting a proposed framework for disclosing those risks. The financial statements help investors make rational investment decisions. The study concluded that the proposed framework can be applied if the requirements for the success of this proposed framework are met. The study also concluded that by using the proposed approach, proper accounting disclosure of the risks of climate change and the opportunities associated with them in the financial statements is achieved, in a manner that It meets investors' requests to rationalize their investment decisions.

Communication of climate change (CC) risks is challenging, in particular if global‐scale spatially resolved quantitative information is to be conveyed. Typically, visualization of CC risks, which arise from the combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability, is confined to showing only the hazards in the form of global thematic maps. This paper explores the potential of contiguous value‐by‐area cartograms, that is, distorted density‐equalizing maps, for improving communication of CC risks and the countries' differentiated responsibilities for CC. Two global‐scale cartogram sets visualize, as an example, groundwater‐related CC risks in 0.5° grid cells, another one the correlation of (cumulative) fossil‐fuel carbon dioxide emissions with the countries' population and gross domestic product. Viewers of the latter set visually recognize the lack of global equity and that the countries' wealth has been built on harmful emissions. I recommend that CC risks are communicated by bivariate gridded cartograms showing the hazard in color and population, or a combination of population and a vulnerability indicator, by distortion of grid cells. Gridded cartograms are also appropriate for visualizing the availability of natural resources to humans. For communicating complex information, sets of cartograms should be carefully designed instead of presenting single cartograms. Inclusion of a conventionally distorted map enhances the viewers' capability to take up the information represented by distortion. Empirical studies about the capability of global cartograms to convey complex information and to trigger moral emotions should be conducted, with a special focus on risk communication.

Understanding coastal communities' awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact is essential in developing effective risk communication tools and mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of these communities. In this study, we examined coastal communities' climate change awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact on the coastal marine ecosystem, sea level rise impact on the mangrove ecosystem and as a factor affecting coral reefs and seagrass beds. The data were gathered by conducting face-to-face surveys with 291 respondents from the coastal areas of Taytay, Aborlan and Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Philippines. Results showed that most participants (82%) perceived that climate change is happening and a large majority (75%) perceived it as a risk to the coastal marine ecosystem. Local temperature rise and excessive rainfall were found to be significant predictors of climate change awareness. Sea level rise was perceived by most participants (60%) to cause coastal erosion and to affect the mangrove ecosystem. On coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems, anthropogenic drivers and climate change were perceived to have a high impact, while marine livelihoods had a low impact. In addition, we found that climate change risk perceptions were influenced by direct experiences of extreme weather events (i.e., temperature rise and excessive rainfall) and climate-related livelihood damages (i.e., declining income). Climate change risk perceptions were also found to vary with household income, education, age group and geographical location. The results suggest that addressing poverty and effectively communicating climate change risks can improve climate change awareness and risk perceptions.

Our study aims to assess the impact of climate change risk on human security of households in selected districts of Punjab, Pakistan namely, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur and Sialkot. We further, aim to ascertain if female labor force participation in the household leads to increase in household’s ability to withstand climate change risk to its human security. By incorporating people’s perception of climate change, the study is based on the data collected from 1000 households of the four districts of Punjab with an equal representation of rural and urban areas. The regression analysis shows climate change as a major security risk and consistently yields deteriorating effect on human security. While incorporating female labor force participation in the model, results shows a positive impact of female labor force participation on human security. Further, the interaction term between climate change risk index and female labor force participation depicts varying but insightful outcomes for human security and its constituents i.e. health, food and economic security. Our data depicts that only 328 out of 1007 households had female earners while the average proportion of female earners was about 16% in the households, which may account for the possibility of a few statistically insignificant coefficient. Though consistently positive sign of the coefficient makes a strong case for female labor force participation in enhancing human security of households via tackling climate change risk effectively. These results highlight the need for removal of barriers to female labor force participation at the household level to enable them to play their profound role in combating climate change risk and its repercussions for human security.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how climate risks impact bank liquidity in China, a major global economic player facing distinct environmental challenges. Design/methodology/approach The analysis covers data from 53 Chinese banks from 2010 to 2022. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares and Quantile Panel Regression Models are used to examine the relationship between climate risks and key liquidity metrics, including the Loan-to-Deposit (LTD) ratio and Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). Findings The results reveal that banks with low LTD ratios expand lending to support green projects. In contrast, banks with high LTD ratios adopt conservative strategies to mitigate risks from rising NPLs and asset volatility. In addition, this study finds that climate risks influence LCR differently across banks: High-LCR banks face asset devaluation risks. While Low-LCRS banks prioritize compliance with regulatory requirements. Research limitations/implications The findings are limited to Chinese banks, which may limit their generalizability to other regions with different banking systems and climate risk exposures. Moreover, the authors primarily address the immediate impacts of climate risks, leaving unexplored the long-term cumulative effects of repeated climate shocks, unpredictable climate events or policy shifts on bank liquidity. Practical implications The findings may help regulatory bodies formulate policies that require banks to integrate climate risk into their liquidity management strategies. This might include mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial risks and adherence to sustainable banking practices. Policymakers can use these findings to develop targeted interventions to support banks in managing climate risks, such as providing incentives for green financing and investments in climate-resilient infrastructure. Social implications The findings have broader societal impacts, influencing public policy and awareness. Strengthening climate risk management within banking can enhance economic stability, protect jobs and support sustainable development. Policymakers can leverage these insights to design regulations that promote responsible lending and investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, ultimately fostering a more sustainable and equitable financial system. Raising awareness of these risks among businesses and the public can encourage proactive risk management and responsible financial decision-making, contributing to the broader goal of sustainable economic development and societal resilience. Originality/value Given China’s unique economic structure, regulatory landscape and climate challenges, this analysis offers a distinctive perspective compared to broader, more generalized studies. Furthermore, the authors use an innovative and novel analytical approach based on the Quantile Panel Regression Model to assess the impact of climate change on bank liquidity, significantly enhancing the originality and depth of this research.

Global corporate operations are facing significant challenges as a result of climate change. Businesses are exposed to a variety of dangers because of their effects, which might include anything from changing regulations to excessive weather. The objective of this research is to examine the connection between business risk and climate change, with a particular emphasis on the success of different adaptation and mitigation tactics used by Greek companies. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 345 enterprises in Greece using a quantitative research methodology. To investigate the relationship involving company risk management, adaptation, and mitigation plans with climate change risks, descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses are employed. Businesses are most distressed about the financial risks associated with climate change, followed by supply chain disruptions and physical hazards. Moreover, developing climate-resilient infrastructure and enhancing catastrophe preparedness have evolved into vital adaptation tactics. Also, converting to renewable energy sources is the most preferred approach to mitigation initiatives. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between climate change mitigation strategies and effective business risk management. Nevertheless, as perceived climate change risks increased, business risk management effectiveness decreased. The study suggests that Greek businesses are actively engaging in climate change risk management strategies that embrace both adaptation and mitigation strategies. Yet, the study recommends a continued focus on developing resilient infrastructure and collaborative efforts with local communities, governments, and NGOs. Businesses should also prioritize the shift to renewable energy sources to better mitigate their carbon emissions. This research contributes significantly to understanding how companies can strategically address the challenges of climate change. Furthermore, the study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of climate change adaptation and mitigation in a specific geographical area, thereby enhancing the global dialogue on climate resilience and sustainable business practices.

Over the last decade, Australia has experienced several severe natural disasters which have caused significant disruptions to its agri-food supply chains. Global climate change is driving an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that can lead to natural disasters. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that climate change - and extreme weather events, in particular - pose significant threats to food security. While much food security research focusses on developing nations, contemporary, supermarket-based food systems have a number of characteristics that make them highly vulnerable to disruptions from extreme weather events. The experience of recent disasters and projections of on-going climate change suggest that Australia’s food systems are facing escalating climate risks to which they must adapt. This thesis considers how the agri-food supply chains that underpin Australia’s food system are enabled or constrained to cope with emerging climate risks and, in particular, to a more rapid recurrence of damaging weather events. In this thesis, supply chains are conceptualized as social institutions and identified as a key location in the food system for decision-making regarding the management of climate risks. The empirical focus of the research is national-scale fresh produce supply chains based on vegetables produced in south-east Queensland’s Lockyer and Fassifern Valleys. These supply chains have been affected by a series of severe weather events and natural disasters since 2011. The study applies qualitative methods to draw insights from supply chain actors regarding: the impacts of recent severe weather events; perceptions of these events and future climate risks; the ways in which climate risks are governed in the supply chain; and what responses have occurred following recent events. The analysis is informed by theoretical perspectives from the social sciences, in particular the social construction of risk, risk governance and resilience. The thesis aims to advance recent conceptualisations of food system resilience and proposes a set of attributes that would enable a capacity for resilience to climate risks and natural disasters within agri-food supply chains. The results of the study demonstrate that the impacts of recent natural disasters were unevenly distributed within the supply chain. Upstream segments of the chain (that is, business involved in vegetable production, packing and transport) experienced more significant impacts and longer recovery periods than downstream segments (such as wholesalers and retailers). The study finds that this is strongly linked to an uneven distribution of vulnerability to risks in the chain which, combined with the rapid recurrence of disaster events, has weakened the fresh produce supply system. The study provides important insights into perceptions, and social constructions, of recent weather events and climate risks amongst actors within fresh produce supply chains – addressing a significant gap in the literature. The results suggest that a shared narrative about Australia’s highly variable climate strongly influences a collective construction amongst supply chain actors which normalises and attenuates climate risk. The study finds, however, that recent extreme weather events have unsettled this dominant construct. Perceptions of future climate risks amongst supply chain actors were varied. Those strongly influenced by the climate variability narrative did not expect future risks to be much different from those experienced in the past. A smaller number of research participants, however, were concerned that climate risks may be escalating and that this may require changes to how those risks were managed. The study found two strongly contrasting approaches to the governance of climate risk in fresh produce supply chains. The findings demonstrate that, typically, climate risks are governed in highly individualised ways but that the emergence of new supply chain intermediaries is facilitating a more collective approach to climate risk governance in some chains. The research also shows that recent recurrent floods have catalysed a number of supply chain actors to pursue changes that improve their capacity to more effectively manage climate risks. Those most motivated to make adaptations were found to be involved in supply chains characterised by individualised governance of climate risks. The thesis concludes by considering what the findings suggest about the prospects for cultivating resilience to escalating climate risks in supply chains and the implications for food security in Australia. The study finds that while a collaborative approach to risk governance is emerging in some cases, there are significant constraints to cultivating climate change resilience in fresh produce supply chains in Australia – and that this adds to known threats to our national food security. The research suggests, however, that adopting a risk governance perspective could help to engage a wider set of social actors, particularly governments and consumers, in the process of improving supply chain and food system resilience in the face of climate change.

Chapter 6: Insurance industry

Topics of sustainable urban development and environmental sustainability are worldwide considered as fundamental for every strategy of urban transformation, renewal and regeneration. In particular, urban regenerations are urban re-development programs involving the rebirth or renewal of selected urban areas or district that have faced periods of decline due to compounding and intersecting pressures. The programs cover many aspects of the area to be re-generated such as physical, social and environmental contexts. Re-use of already built up areas and buildings, reduction of the demand for new soils to be developed, increasing of appealing of dense city areas, increasing of social and spatial resilience are among the positive consequences of these programs. However, in the current debate about urban regeneration, few studies have evaluated the real environmental outcomes and effectiveness of regeneration programs in terms of physical variables such as new provided greenspaces, accessibility to public transportation, climate change or seismic risk reduction. This paper proposes a method to quantify the real outcomes and effectiveness of urban regeneration programs with reference to the above mentioned variables. As a real experience of urban planning, the new Local Spatial Plan for the Municipality of Catania, a medium sized city in Southern Italy, is presented. The city is characterised by a high density urban fabric, a general lack of urban greenspaces and high levels of traffic congestion due to a massive use of private transportation. The urban fabric is also very vulnerable to seismic and climate change risks. Among the transformation tools, the new Local spatial plan proposes regeneration actions aimed at the complete regeneration of old and dilapidated areas, not classified as historical heritage and heavily vulnerable to seismic risk. These actions include the complete demolition and reconstruction of these areas within clearly defined boundaries, contributing to minimise soil consumption, maintaining as open public spaces the majority of existing non urbanised areas within the densely built-up settlement. The program of regeneration can dramatically contributes to the reduction of seismic and climate change risk and achieve a general requalification of the urban environment. Starting from this planning experience, this paper focus on the evaluation of the regenerations programs included in the Local Spatial Plan. Regeneration Areas (RAs) have been identified by the municipality as characterized by high level of seismic vulnerability, urban degradation, lack of public services and urban environment quality. For the chosen areas, this study proposes the evaluation of the transformations potentially occurring in the urban context by the proposed regeneration program. The following aspects are evaluated: reduction of risks (in terms of exposition and vulnerability to seismic and climate change related risks) 2 International Scientific Conference GEOBALCANICA 2016 256 mobility (concerning the presence of public means of transports, distance to the transit stops, roads, pedestrian and cycling lanes) accessibility increase (in terms of access to trip attractions) land-use diversity (in terms of number and distribution of different land uses) public spaces and services (in terms of extension and functions) Each of the aforementioned aspects are evaluated by spatial indicators calculated by GIS. All indicators are calculated at different and size increasing units, in order to understand the effect of a single regeneration project and of a number of concurrent projects within the considered geographical units. The geographical units are the RAs and districts. Different combinations of regeneration projects will be thus evaluated to highlight which projects produce the most relevant effects, calculated with the proposed indicators. This will allow the municipality to define scenarios of regeneration priority, in terms of which projects might be financed and implemented firstly because of their higher positive effect on the urban environment. Such scenarios will generate positive effects not only to the single areas to be regenerated but also to wider urban contexts, significantly reducing the urban vulnerability to seismic and climate change risks and at the same time producing more livable and healthy urban environment.