Other Priorities Keep Focus Off Climate Change Action

Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in North America are concerned about the impacts of climate change, but other priorities and the high costs of climate mitigation mean few have plans in place to fight it, says BMO’s ‘Climate Institute’ survey. It shows that 69 per cent of SMBs expect the physical impacts of climate will disrupt operations over the next five years and almost a third say severe weather patterns are already creating challenges. Despite this, only 24 per cent of Canadian businesses have a plan in place to address it. Many say they are either unsure where to begin or are focused on more immediate challenges to justify the cost of mitigating climate change. SMBs account for more than 98 per cent of businesses in Canada and they have been responsible for creating more than half of net new private sector jobs over the past few decades, yet they feel they receive very little support from government and external partners to help them with climate change.