Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 2020
  • Background Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:27 
ShareBar

Abstract

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water and food, political and security risks, human health risks, and impact on wildlife and ecosystems. Next, responses to climate change are outlined, including improvements in energy efficiency, moving away from fossil fuels, changes in land use and agriculture practices, and geoengineering. The note concludes with the debate over how much should be spent to mitigate and adapt to climate change, who should pay, and the implications for the private sector.

Keywords

Climate Change; Environmental Accounting; Agribusiness; Economic Growth; Energy Conservation; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Energy Sources; Non-renewable Energy; Globalized Markets And Industries; National Security; Government Legislation; Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; Problems And Challenges; Risk And Uncertainty; Natural Disasters; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Science-based Business; Weather; Society; Technology

Citation

Henderson, Rebecca M., Sophus A. Reinert, and Mariana Oseguera. "Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business." Harvard Business School Background Note 320-087, January 2020. (Click here for a complimentary copy on the Business & Environment Initiative’s site.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Authors

Rebecca M. Henderson

General Management
→More Publications

Sophus A. Reinert

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • Fall 2020
    • Daedalus

    Climate in the Boardroom: Struggling to Reconcile Business as Usual & the End of the World as We Know It

    By: Rebecca Henderson
    • May 2020
    • AEA Papers and Proceedings

    Tackling Climate Change Requires Organizational Purpose

    By: Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim
    • April 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG

    By: Rebecca Henderson
More from the Authors
  • Climate in the Boardroom: Struggling to Reconcile Business as Usual & the End of the World as We Know It By: Rebecca Henderson
  • Tackling Climate Change Requires Organizational Purpose By: Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim
  • Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG By: Rebecca Henderson
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College