Why We Need a Systematic Approach to Climate Adaptation
This blog is based on an article produced by McKinsey, (Ten Key requirements for a systematic approach to climate adaptation, Nov 2023) which argues strongly for a need for adaptation to, as well as mitigation for, climate change. It examines the issue on a global scale. Here I have distilled the key arguments presented and how they could relate to schools.
Paris Conference Agreements not being realised
It has become increasingly obvious that the agreement at the Paris Conference on climate change to limit the increase in global temperatures below 2 degrees is not on track. One of the key planks in this agreement was that individual countries would try to accomplish net zero emissions of the climate warming gases by 2030. However, this goal is becoming increasingly unrealistic as few countries will have made the adaptations they need to achieve this goal. This graph produced by McKinsey gives some projections of change that may occur in global temperatures if Net Zero has not been achieved up until the end of this century.
Given the current trends in climate warming it seems that what all institutions including schools need to do is to consider how they as institutions will adapt to this rapid increase in climate change. Mc Kinsey in a recent article has suggested that changes need to be made across four broad categories: “A climate risk management Mindset, technological and behavioural adaptation levers, economic and societal adjustment behaviours and governance and institutional commitment”. The article from MacKinsey goes on to suggest that attempts to mitigate the effects of climate change must be more deliberate than in the past because of the rate at which change is occurring which is unprecedented in the history of the world.
A Climate risk management mindset
It is essential for governance leadership in schools to appreciate the impact of climate change on their institution. They need to have some understanding of the scale and time scale of change that would affect them. This would initially involve the school making an assessment of the risks that climate change will have on their physical assets such as buildings. This assessment should examine detailed climate data for the local region and changes that might occur. An example of this might be a school that could possibly be affected by flooding because of its proximity to the ocean or that might be exposed to more and severe winds from tropical standards. It may need to consider even the timing of its school year and events.
Technological and behavioural levers
Not only did this mean applying technical solutions, but also dealing with behavioural adaptations to the future. When looking at implementing solutions such as utilising air conditioning in hot climates there is also the need to consider the consequences of that will mean that power bills get unmanageable in the future for the institution. There may be relatively cheap nature-based solutions that schools can engage in for example planting trees to act as both Carbon sinks and also to provide shade to buildings and students outside recreation areas. Buildings need to be built with consideration not only of potential climate hazards they may face, but also to maximise natural light and heating. The aspect and design of the buildings is important and so is the ability to collect solar energy for both electricity and heating of water.
There has been an attempt in many schools to look at their supply chains and see how sustainable they are in their operations. For example, looking at suppliers of furniture and school equipment to see how efficient they are. Many secondary schools in particular are trying to move away from the use of paper and just going to digital lessons and record keeping.Economic and societal adjustments
Institutions including schools need to start analysing the cost of changes they need to make to make appropriate changes to their design and technology for the future. In Bangladesh, there has been a national attempt to budget for the changes caused by climate. Their plan has made 113 recommendations, some of which are short-term, medium term and others long-term. Another challenge that schools will have to budget for in the future is hard to predict and that is going to be the cost of insurance of facilities in the light of disasters such as floods caused by climate change. In current accreditation requirements for schools there needs to be a requirement for disaster planning for the future by the school to take into account dramatic weather changes such as hurricanes or tornadoes.
Governance, Institutions and Commitment
This opening sentence of this section of the McKinsey article is worth quoting here: “.....the most critical requirements are effective governing institutions and policies, community awareness and commitment by and among leaders…”There is no doubt that school governing bodies play a critical role in developing policy about adaptation to climate change. They have the chance to plan for the future based on future climate change to consider how they will deal with the physical and human changes that will bring. An important role that they play is to budget for adaptation measures that they need to bring with them and also how to align with community programmes. Metanoia in their survey of the role that international schools can play in promoting mitigation and adaptation strategies have suggested that this alignment is an area that such schools need to improve in.
School leaders and governing bodies need to become much better informed about the nature of climate risks they face, but also about the adaptations they need to adopt. They need also to engage in dialogue not only within their own institutions but also with the community in which they operate. It will mean leaders in schools will need to develop their own knowledge and communication skills with their local communities.
From a school viewpoint, there needs to be more direction from both public and private school accreditation bodies about the necessity of adapting both mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with climate change.
When schools organise to have discussions and conferences about sustainability it is essential that school leaders and governing bodies are present to be informed so that they can make decisions.
References
Alexis Trippito et all, “Ten key requirements for a Systematic Approach to climate adaptation”, McKinsey and Company, November 2023
Bangladesh National Adaptation Plan, UNDP
Metanoia White Paper-Paper 1 Summary of findings “Global Insights from the International School Market” (September 2023)
Website: https://icsresearch.com/int-school/ - Research into International Schools