The storylines dominating climate change news are usually doom and gloom, but corporate America sees some new ways to integrate a warmer world into its business models.
Driving the news: That conclusion was gleaned from disclosures from more than 7,000 companies worldwide (1,800 in the U.S.) that were collected by CDP, a London-based nonprofit that asks companies to report their environmental impact.
"Many of those that filed reports with CDP said they believe climate change can bolster demand for their products," Bloomberg's Christopher Flavelle reports:
Axios health care editor Sam Baker rummaged through the reports and found that climate change could be big business for pharma:
These financial benefits are, of course, anomalies — most impact will be dire. Axios' Ben Geman points out that companies like Coca-Cola, which worries about water shortages, have long realized the risks to their operations.
Why it matters, from Axios science editor Andrew Freedman: Polling indicates Americans are already recognizing the impacts of global warming in their own backyards, and the CDP disclosures make me think about what might happen once we start to factor climate change into our spending decisions.
What we're watching ... The companies' reports show expected climate-change expenses that could become so big and detrimental that they provoke a real sea change in corporate America: More companies turning to governments, and lobbying for policies reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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