Climate Impact

Climate impact refers to the direct or indirect effect that an activity, product, service or policy has on the Earth’s climate system, primarily through the emission or absorption of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This concept encompasses global warming as well as changes in precipitation patterns, extreme weather events and environmental feedback mechanisms.

Main Indicators

• Global Warming Potential (GWP) over 100 years.
• Carbon footprint (CO₂e) across the life cycle.
• Radiative forcing (W/m²).

Sources of Impact

• Energy: fossil fuels, electricity generation.
• Land use: deforestation, intensive agriculture.
• Industrial processes: cement, chemicals, steel.
• Transport: aviation, shipping, road transport.

Climate Impact Assessment

• Corporate and national emissions inventories.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) models integrated with IPCC methodologies.
• Economic indicators: carbon price, social cost of carbon.

Tools and Standards

• GHG Protocol and ISO 14064 for quantification.
• TCFD for climate-risk disclosure.
• PEF and EPD for product-level impact reporting.

Mitigation and Adaptation

• Decarbonisation: renewable energy, efficiency, carbon capture.
• Resilience: climate-smart infrastructure.
• Circular economy: reducing virgin resource use.

Understanding and reducing climate impact is essential to limit global warming and protect the planet’s ecological and socio-economic systems.