Prof. Mario Monzoni and Researcher Mariana Nicolletti, FGV-EAESP, invite organisations and policy-makers to “open the window” to a broader understanding of climate adaptation – one that goes beyond emergency response and embraces systemic change, risk governance, and socio-environmental resilience.

Originally published in Portuguese in GVexecutivo – FGV EAESP, Volume 23, Issue No. 1. With kind acknowledgements.

In a world increasingly shaped by climate extremes, the way we prepare for and respond to environmental disruptions has become a defining challenge. Yet adaptation to climate change remains largely underdeveloped – fragmented across policies, underfunded in business agendas, and culturally underrepresented.

From Catastrophe to Culture: Why Climate Adaptation Remains Marginalized

Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh once lamented the absence of climate events in modern fiction. Despite their increasing presence in our daily lives, floods, droughts, and storms remain sidelined to the genre of science fiction or dystopia. This cultural blind spot reflects a deeper issue: a modern worldview that sees nature as separate from society, manageable and ultimately controllable.

But climate change defies that logic. The 21st century marks the peak of a development model that concentrates populations in unplanned urban areas, exacerbates inequality, and pushes ecosystems beyond their limits. Six of the nine planetary boundaries have already been breached. In Brazil alone, over 890,000 people were affected by climate-related disasters in 2022.

Rethinking Adaptation: Beyond Reactive Measures

Adaptation is often mistaken for last-minute disaster response. Yet, it is much more than a defensive measure – it is a strategic response to systemic risk. Adaptation involves anticipating impacts, reducing vulnerability, and strengthening the ability of systems (natural and human) to adjust and thrive.

Current climate finance, however, falls short. While the annual cost of adaptation for developing countries is estimated to reach US$340 billion by 2030, only US$63 billion was allocated globally in 2022, most of it from the public sector. Private investment remains rare, fragmented, and often incidental.

Integrating Agendas: Risk Management, Resilience, and Adaptation

Climate adaptation cannot operate in isolation. It must intersect with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience-building. These agendas are complementary and, when integrated, offer a powerful approach to reducing exposure, managing vulnerabilities, and preparing for systemic shocks.

This means combining:

• Hard infrastructure (e.g., drainage systems, dams) with green and blue infrastructure (e.g., parks, water bodies);
• Short-term emergency responses with long-term planning;
• Technical measures with socioeconomic strategies aimed at equity and justice.

Businesses Must Adapt – Strategically

Despite growing climate impacts, few companies have developed robust adaptation strategies. Most actions are reactive, isolated, or driven by regulatory pressure or investor demands. Yet the business case is increasingly clear: failing to adapt brings costly disruptions in supply chains, energy availability, and market stability.

Forward-thinking companies can lead by:

• Assessing climate risks across operations and supply chains;
• Engaging stakeholders in co-designing adaptation plans;
• Investing in infrastructure that delivers long-term resilience;
• Aligning internal processes – finance, strategy, operations – with adaptation goals.

FGVces, the Center for Sustainability Studies at FGV EAESP, has developed a practical tool to guide companies through this process. The tool emphasizes diagnosis, stakeholder engagement, measure selection, implementation, and monitoring – all framed by climate data and social context.

The Next Frontiers

To advance adaptation, we must push past current limits. Key frontiers include:

• Merging mitigation and adaptation into a unified planning logic;
• Establishing multi-level governance that links national policies with local actions;
• Enabling public-private partnerships that align investment with public benefit;
• Integrating indigenous and traditional knowledge into climate strategies;
• Mainstreaming the climate lens into all areas of policy and business – from finance to education.

Critically, adaptation must become part of how we imagine the future. Culture, art, and collective memory play a central role in shaping what societies believe is possible. If climate risks remain invisible in our stories, they will remain sidelined in our decisions.

Final Word

Climate change is not just a scientific or technical issue – it is a societal challenge that calls for imagination, equity, and transformation. We must open the window to new ways of thinking and acting. Because adaptation is no longer optional. It is the only way forward.

Useful links:

• Link up with Mario Monzoni and Mariana Nicolletti on LinkedIn
• Read a related article: The Role of Boards of Directors to Accelerate Business Climate Adaptation
• Visit the FGVces Center for Sustainability
• Discover South America’s leading business school FGV EAESP and apply for the OneMBA program.

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Member schools of the Council on Business & Society.

• ESSEC Business School, France, Singapore, Morocco
• FGV-EAESP, Brazil
• School of Management Fudan University, China
• IE Business School, Spain
• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
• Keio Business School, Japan
• Monash Business School, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia
• Olin Business School, USA
• Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada
• Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa
• Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Warwick Business School, United Kingdom.