Climate change adaptation: consumer response to climate risk

The lecture discussed how energy has shaped the societies that today face the need to rethink their relationship with energy, in the race towards net zero emissions.

Starting from a new environmental paradox that is silently emerging, the looming cooling crunch, the talk introduced the notion of adaptation to climate change. It showed how the relevance and significance of energy use for adaptation needs to be taken into account for planning an effective decarbonization pathway.

About the speaker

Enrica De Cian is a full professor of economic policy at Ca'Foscari University in Venice. She is a researcher in the Economic Analysis of Climate Impacts and Policy division of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC).

In 2012 she received the Marie Skłodowska-Curie International Outgoing Fellowship and in 2017 she received a starting grant from the European Research Council (ERC), as well as participated in international research projects funded by the European Union. Her research concerns the global impacts of climate change on the economy and society.

Interview with Enrica De Cian

C-TAKEAWAYS: Fast facts for the C-level

• Mitigation and adaptation are not alternatives, but complementary actions and strategies.
• Climate risks are region-specific and entail different sorts of challenges.
• Adaptation concerns both individuals and larger entities, like companies and governments.
• Your R&D department is an important vehicle to develop sustainable products and services.
• There’s a need for cultural change to adapt our consumption behaviors, and companies can be a vehicle for that.
• You should examine the behavior of people at work and promote changes that are energy-saving.