Hurricane Sandy a wake-up call for industry

As hurricane Sandy's images stood as a grave reminder that the response to climate change is more urgent than ever, Will Steffen and Gail Whiteman remind the business community that it has a stake in the outcome. In their opinion for the Canberra Times, they make the link between the destruction of the storm and climate change by highlighting the mechanisms behind storm surge, coastal flooding and sea level rise, as well as the direction that the storm took, the loss of sea ice on the Arctic Ocean and the evaporation of water from the ocean surface.

Citing the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's landmark Vision 2050 report as a tool to identify key pathways to achieving the sort of change that's needed and at the necessary scale, they assert that business is the best source for developing the innovations that will prepare society for future threats by developing the technologies to adapt to a changing climate.

But they also add that, if Sandy should act as a wake-up call for the need to increase business commitments, there is also a need for a co-ordinated effort among every level of society, business and government, especially as negotiators from around the world will soon gather at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) to work on setting a binding agreement to combat climate change.