Mobility sphere Interview Climate

Why is climate adaptation a critical issue?

Antoine Poincaré, Director of the Climate School at AXA Climate Rédigé le January 09, 2025

“Why is climate adaptation a key issue?” “Adaptation is essential because we can clearly see that we need both to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare for and protect ourselves in a climate that is increasingly unstable. And that is what we call adaptation [00:08]. This will require funding, and it will require thinking differently. For companies, it means considering how to maintain business continuity in a world that is being disrupted, and this is truly the issue that is now coming to the forefront [00:16]. To accelerate adaptation, the key message is to understand that it will happen at the territorial level. A company will not adapt on its own; it will adapt in a specific place. For that to happen, infrastructure must work, schools must work, suppliers must work [00:30]. Accelerating adaptation for businesses therefore means looking ‘downward’, reconnecting with the local areas they depend on, and taking action [00:45]. Adapting also means rethinking how we travel, and sometimes choosing not to travel when conditions are too extreme. It means partly giving things up and, as much as possible, investing in the resilience of our transport systems to ensure that we can resume activity as quickly as possible after a disaster [00:53]. This must be planned, of course, alongside private actors like Transdev, with public authorities and public procurement starting today [01:04].”

In this interview, Antoine Poincaré discusses the challenges of climate adaptation.

Why is climate adaptation a critical issue?

Adaptation is key: we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for and protecting ourselves in a climate that is becoming increasingly unstable. This will require money, and a new way of thinking for companies, who will have to think about the continuity of their activities.

How can we accelerate our adaptation to climate change?

To speed up adaptation, the key message is to understand that it will be played out on a regional scale. A company is not going to adapt on its own, it's going to adapt in a place where the infrastructure has to work. For companies, accelerating adaptation means looking down and returning to the territories on which they depend, and taking action.

What role do mobility solutions play in climate adapttaion?

Adapting also means rethinking the way we get around, sometimes even not getting around in more extreme conditions. We need to invest in the resilience of our transport systems, so that we can quickly resume operations after a disaster. This needs to be thought through with private-sector players, like Transdev, and with public authorities today.