Earth’s changing climate has big implications for individuals, businesses, and policy makers. This collection draws together articles and reports on physical climate risk, sustainability, the energy transition, and approaches to face up to the challenges brought on by climate change.

Physical Climate Risk | Climate Math | Business Leaders’ Response | Conservation and Natural Capital | Energy Transition | Financing the Transition | Industry Perspectives | Regional Perspectives

Featured Insights

Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts

– How could Earth’s changing climate impact socioeconomic systems across the world in the next three decades? A yearlong, cross-disciplinary research effort at McKinsey & Company provides some answers.

1.5-5.0

Expected increase, in degrees Celsius, in global average temperatures by 2050

2/3

Share of survey respondents who say economic-recovery efforts should prioritize climate change

40%

Expected drop in energy intensity of global GDP by 2050 because of gains in energy efficiency

Report

Curbing methane emissions: How five industries can counter a major climate threat
– Methane accounts for about one-third of global warming. New McKinsey research shows how five industries can cut emissions with... proven technologies and at a reasonable cost.
Report

How cities can adapt to climate change
– Research identifies 15 proven ways that urban areas around the world can adapt to climate risk.
Report

A blueprint for scaling voluntary carbon markets to meet the climate challenge
– The trading of carbon credits can help companies—and the world—meet ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Here... is what it would take to strengthen voluntary carbon markets so they can support climate action on a large scale.

Special Downloadable Collection

Collection

McKinsey on Climate Change

This special downloadable collection brings together recent McKinsey research and perspectives on the climate risks the world must confront and actions to reduce emissions.

Sustainability and the post-COVID-19 recovery

Article

Making supply-chain decarbonization happen
– Active supply-chain decarbonization is becoming a license to operate for businesses, but companies aiming to be role models in... the fight against climate change must overcome roadblocks along the way.
Article

Investing in infrastructure for a ‘green recovery’
– Asset managers must understand the impact of climate change on their portfolios. Doing so can result in a more sustainable built... environment that supports decarbonization technologies.
Article

How a post-pandemic stimulus can both create jobs and help the climate
– The $10 trillion in stimulus measures that policy makers have allocated could be decisive for the world’s low-carbon transition.... Here’s how organizations can bring economic and environmental priorities together.

Featured video

Video

Why a stable climate is important for our businesses and our lives

McKinsey Global Institute senior fellow Mekala Krishnan explains how climate impacts are nearer than you might think.

Physical climate risk

Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts

– How could Earth’s changing climate impact socioeconomic systems across the world in the next three decades? A yearlong, cross-disciplinary research effort at McKinsey & Company provides some answers.

Climate Math

Interactive - McKinsey Quarterly

The 1.5-degree challenge
– Holding warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels could limit the most dangerous and irreversible effects of climate change.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Climate math: What a 1.5-degree pathway would take
– Decarbonizing global business at scale is achievable, but the math is daunting.

Business Leaders’ Response

Interview - McKinsey Quarterly

Asia at the speed of light: An interview with the head of ReNew Power
– The energy transition will remake Asia, says Sumant Sinha, managing director of ReNew Power.
Interview

Ørsted’s renewable-energy transformation
– Twelve years ago, the Danish energy company made most of its money from fossil fuels. Today, it’s the world’s leading offshore-wind... power producer. The head of Ørsted’s offshore-wind business tells the story of this change.
Interview - McKinsey Quarterly

‘Bring the problem forward’: Larry Fink on climate risk
– The physical impact of climate change will lead to a major capital reallocation, says the head of BlackRock, the world’s largest... asset manager.

Conservation and Natural Capital

Report

How negative emissions can help organizations meet their climate goals
– Substantial negative emissions (carbon removals) are needed with emission reductions to avert catastrophic climate change. Analysis... shows that negative emissions can be deployed at the required scale.
Podcast

Climate math: What it takes to limit warming to 1.5°C
– We can limit climate change and reduce carbon emissions to zero if leaders in key industries act now. Here’s an action plan... to reach those ambitious targets.
Report

Why investing in nature is key to climate mitigation
– A new consultation paper from McKinsey and the World Economic Forum explores the role that natural climate solutions can play... in helping to address climate change and the destruction of nature.

Sustainability blog

Quick takes on the business of sustainability from our experts at the forefront of today’s trends.

Learn more

Energy Transition

Interactive

Global Energy Perspective 2021

– The Global Energy Perspective describes our view on how the energy transition can unfold, through four scenarios.

Financing the Transition

Interview

Accounting for values and valuation
– Former UPS finance chief Kurt Kuehn describes how the SASB framework can help companies measure, manage, and disclose material... ESG and other nonfinancial risks.
Article

Climate change and P&C insurance: The threat and opportunity
– Many in the property and casualty insurance industry have underestimated the immediacy of physical—and systemic—effects... from climate change. Business models must adapt.
Article

Banking imperatives for managing climate risk
– More than regulatory pressure is driving banks to manage climate risk. Financing a green agenda is also a commercial imperative—but... specialized skills are needed to protect balance sheets.

Industry perspectives

Issue

Meeting the sustainable infrastructure challenge
– Welcome to the September 2021 issue of Voices on Infrastructure, a collection of insights on how infrastructure can help... address the climate-change challenge.
Article

How hydrogen combustion engines can contribute to zero emissions
– Hydrogen combustion engines can leverage existing technologies and provide a zero-emissions option for specific use cases while... supporting the growth of hydrogen infrastructure.
Article

Five retail banking products that unite value and a sense of purpose
– As increasing numbers of customers look for products and services with positive social or environmental impacts, banks can add... value through innovation.
Article

On target: How to succeed with carbon-reduction initiatives
– McKinsey research reveals which industries are on track to meet green objectives and how they got there.
Survey

How companies capture the value of sustainability: Survey findings
– What makes the difference between a sustainability program that produces business value and one that doesn’t? A new survey... identifies practices that distinguish value-creating companies from others.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The irresistible momentum behind clean, electric, connected mobility: Four key trends
– Mobility’s future is visible in the increasing support of capital markets, the demands of Chinese consumers, the effort to slow... climate change, and the new skills automakers will need to deal with these shifts.
Podcast

How insurance can help combat climate change
– In the transition to a green economy, the insurance industry can play a critical role in helping stakeholders manage risk.
Article

The zero-carbon car: Abating material emissions is next on the agenda
– The automotive industry could abate 66 percent of emissions from their material production at no extra cost by 2030—if industry... participants work together and start now.
Collection

The Next Normal – The future of fashion: Sustainable brands and ‘circular’ business models
There’s no denying that the fashion industry has been a major contributor to climate change and biodiversity loss—which... means the industry’s sustainability efforts are critical to our planet’s health. In this edition, The Next Normal explores the coming decade in sustainable fashion.

Regional Perspectives

Article

America 2021: Renewing the nation’s commitment to climate action
– To America’s leaders, innovators, and changemakers: here’s how you can help build a low-carbon economy that is resilient,... competitive, prosperous, and fair.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Climate risk and response in Asia
– In many ways, Asia is on the frontline of a changing climate. We analyze the extent of climate risk facing the region and effective... responses for adaptation and mitigation.
Report

How the European Union could achieve net-zero emissions at net-zero cost
– The decarbonization pathways to a net-zero Europe are countless, but not all are cost optimal. We explore one pathway that could... reduce the EU’s emissions 55 percent by 2030 while delivering broad economic benefits.

From the New at McKinsey blog

Blog Post

Can data science turn ocean conservation dreams into reality?
– Through a series of pro-bono projects, McKinsey is supporting the Blue Nature Alliance by developing innovative funding models... for marine conservation.
Blog Post

Launching McKinsey Sustainability: Our new platform for helping clients innovate to net zero
– To help every industry get to “net zero” by 2050, McKinsey Sustainability will serve clients on sustainable corporate... strategy, green business building, sustainable investing, and more.
Blog Post

Dickon Pinner: Why sustainability must be core to the post-pandemic recovery
– Our firm’s global Sustainability leader talks about the extent of climate change’s risks and how organizations can... transform to become more sustainable.

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Environmental Sustainability
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