Building a climate-resilient and just future for all: Managing cascading climate risk in global supply chains

Supply chains are the arteries of the global economy. But how resilient are they to climate risk? And what role do they play in carrying risk between communities great distances apart? COVID-19 has brought the vulnerabilities inherent in our global trading systems into sharp relief – how impacts can leap from sector to sector and cascade from country to county – often hitting the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.

Climate change can also catalyze such cascading effects – with both companies and communities bearing the brunt. Yet the way we plan adaptation often fails to reflect the realities of how risk is driven and distributed in the 21st century. And efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains could lead to the redistribution of vulnerability rather than its reduction outright.

This dialogue shines a spotlight on industry and explores actions to strengthen the resilience of global supply chains to better manage the cross-border effects of climate change. It also reveals opportunities for just approaches to adaptation that bring co-benefits at scale. If our connections to each other expose us to the transboundary nature of climate risk, they also present an opportunity to shape an inclusive and sustainable path to the future.

Bringing together representatives from the private sector, civil society, governments and international organizations, the dialogue accelerates the transition towards a collaborative and coordinated approach to adaptation and a climate-resilient and just future for all.

Keynote speakers and panelists shared their insights and reflections on:

• How might the transboundary effects of climate change undermine the resilience of global supply chains and with what effect – particularly for our food security?
• How can recovery efforts from COVID-19 strengthen our resilience to systemic risks, including those posed by climate change?
• What are the implications of these risks for the private-sector, for trade policy-makers, for energy infrastructure and for particular groups in our societies and communities?
• And how can we build adaptation responses to better manage such risks in ways that are just, equitable and sustainable?