Typhoon Danas in July caused nearly TWD 1.6 billion in agricultural losses, devastating pomelo orchards. (Photo: Tainan City Government)
Each year could now be the coolest summer of our lifetime. With global average temperature surpassing the 1.5°C threshold in 2024, extreme weather is expected to grow more frequent and severe. This series, “Climate adaptation in focus,” explores Taiwan’s policy pathways and challenges in climate adaptation, while also highlighting how businesses can leverage weather data to manage risks and capture new opportunities.
As climate change intensifies, extreme weather events like heatwaves, rainstorms, and wildfires are becoming increasingly frequent. Research by the London Stock Exchange Group shows that in 2024, climate adaptation solutions generated an additional USD 1 trillion in global revenue. With climate risks mounting, the key questions for Taiwan are how to strengthen its adaptation efforts and how businesses can identify opportunities in the process.
From risk to resilience, climate adaptation reshapes land planning
In the face of global warming and worsening extreme weather, national land use and urban planning must incorporate both foresight and resilience. This requires cross-departmental collaboration and information sharing to enhance adaptive capacity.
Camyale Chao (趙恭岳), executive director of the International Climate Development Institute (ICDI), explained that climate adaptation is essentially about building “resilience.” The concept first emerged in the 1970s but regained prominence after being formally embedded in the Paris Agreement framework in 2015.
Global warming has made weather patterns increasingly difficult to predict. Chao said that one of ICDI’s core research areas is climate services—helping businesses and governments integrate climate and weather data into decision-making to reduce unnecessary costs and improve overall resilience. He added that climate adaptation is about reducing impacts when risks cannot be fully avoided, which requires comprehensive preparation: 80% disaster prevention and preparedness, 10% real-time response, and 10% post-disaster recovery capacity.
In an interview with RECCESSARY on climate adaptation, Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) described adaptation as a form of “long-term disaster prevention.” He likened it to cancer prevention—a process that requires sustained effort over decades—whereas disaster response is more like treating a common cold. Adaptation, he emphasized, demands planning horizons of 10 to 20 years or more, with outcomes that may not be visible in the short term.
Peng emphasized that adaptation is about preparing for more severe climate shocks that may occur in the future, a process that takes years of steady investment. But he noted that long-term adaptation cannot succeed without first mastering the basics of disaster response. If a country struggles to cope with an incoming typhoon, it cannot realistically claim to be ready for climate adaptation, he said.
