Three in four UK businesses feel threatened by climate crisis

Three-quarters of UK businesses feel threatened by climate volatility, but just one in 10 believe that assessing the risk should be a priority this year, a new survey has found.

Cost is seen as the main barrier to tackling climate risk, cited by 45% of respondents, followed by a lack of understanding, mentioned by 28%.

The findings from Earth Science AI company Cervest also reveal that 60% of companies believe climate change will be damaging to their business, while 67% think they lack the skills needed to manage the issue.

“Our findings show that businesses are unclear of the risks that climate presents to them, and the potential price tag that goes with that,“ said Cervest CEO Iggy Bassi.

“Bearing the brunt of this current pandemic will be an immediate focus for many companies. But the long-term cost of ignoring climate change threatens to be far more severe than the expense of putting strategies in place today.“

Over 500 businesses took part in the survey, which found that revenue growth is seen as their top priority this year, followed by profitability and sustainability.

The top 10 priorities for UK businesses in 2020 are shown below:

Cervest said that businesses need to be held accountable for their role in mitigating climate risk, but found that 72% of see climate as a political problem.

Furthermore, 83% do not believe the government is providing enough support to help them tackle climate change, with 85% arguing there needs to be regulation enforced to help mitigate the climate risk.

“The gap between decision-makers and the role they think they play in the climate crisis is shocking and greater responsibility needs to be taken,“ Bassi said.

“We have witnessed the world quickly adapt to do whatever is necessary to tackle the virus. This level of unity must be applied to the climate crisis.“

Image credit: iStock

Graphic credit: Cervest