{"id":4219,"date":"2025-04-08T05:30:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T05:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theirmindia.org\/blog\/?p=4219"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T13:37:04","slug":"leveraging-credible-climate-risk-data-repositories-to-safeguard-corporate-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theirmindia.org\/blog\/leveraging-credible-climate-risk-data-repositories-to-safeguard-corporate-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Credible Climate Risk Data Repositories to Safeguard Corporate India"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Getting<\/a><\/p>\n

The global order is undergoing a profound transformation as the climate crisis accelerates, exerting debilitating effects on economies, ecosystems, businesses and societies at an unprecedented pace. Unlike traditional risks, climate change manifests through both acute events\u2014such as cyclones, floods and wildfires\u2014and chronic trends like rising temperatures, sea-level rise and shifting precipitation patterns. These phenomena interact in complex ways, amplifying vulnerabilities and creating cascading impacts across supply chains, infrastructure networks and financial markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the existential nature of the threat, many governments and institutions remain reactive, addressing climate impacts only after they materialise rather than embedding resilience and adaptation into strategic planning. A paradigm shift towards proactive climate <\/span>risk assessment<\/b> is urgently required, underpinned by robust, centralised and credible climate data repositories. Such repositories form the foundation for informed decision-making, enabling businesses to quantify, monitor and mitigate both physical and transition risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Global Economic Toll of Climate Change<\/b><\/h2>\n

Acute and Chronic Impacts<\/b><\/p>\n

According to the World Economic Forum\u2019s Global Risks Report 2025, weather and climate-related events rank as the second-most challenging security threat\u2014only surpassed by armed conflicts and war. Between 1993 and 2022, the Climate Risk Index reports over 9,400 extreme weather events, resulting in more than 765,000 fatalities and direct losses of nearly USD\u00a04.2\u00a0trillion (inflation-adjusted). These figures capture only the immediate destruction; the indirect and long-term economic repercussions\u2014such as lost productivity, infrastructure degradation and ecosystem collapse\u2014are far greater.<\/span><\/p>\n

Macroeconomic Consequences<\/b><\/p>\n

Research by the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) indicates that global GDP would be over 37\u202fper\u202fcent higher today if warming between 1960 and 2019 had not occurred. The same study suggests that the economic costs of a hotter planet are likely to be at least six times greater than current estimates. Complementary findings in <\/span>Nature<\/span><\/i> project an additional 19\u202fper\u202fcent decline in average global incomes by 2050 under current emissions trajectories. These macroeconomic impacts underscore the imperative for mitigation, adaptation and resilience-building.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investor Sentiment and Infrastructure Risks<\/b><\/p>\n

A 2024 survey by the EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute found that 97\u202fper\u202fcent of institutional investors consider <\/span>climate risk<\/b> significant, and 76\u202fper\u202fcent believe it will have a medium-to-high impact on their infrastructure portfolios. Alarmingly, 76\u202fper\u202fcent also reported insufficient access to climate data and scenarios for assessing physical risks. A disorderly transition could erode USD\u00a0600\u202fbillion of infrastructure value, with even low-carbon sectors\u2014such as renewables and social infrastructure\u2014vulnerable to transition and physical risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate Risks for India and Corporate India<\/b><\/h2>\n

National Vulnerabilities<\/b><\/p>\n

India is acutely exposed to climate change, ranking sixth in the Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index 2025 for extreme events between 1993 and 2022. Over 400 extreme events were recorded, causing more than 80,000 fatalities and economic losses exceeding USD\u00a0180\u202fbillion. The Asian Development Bank projects a potential 24.7\u202fper\u202fcent reduction in India\u2019s GDP by 2070, driven by rising sea levels, heatwaves and erratic monsoons. Coastal inundation alone threatens trillions of dollars in assets and endangers some 300\u202fmillion residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sectoral Impacts<\/b><\/p>\n