Adaptation and knowledge have become the key issues of climate change

International scientific and economic analyses are increasingly showing that the world is very likely to exceed the 1.5 degree target set in the Paris Agreement. As a result, the focus is shifting worldwide from emissions reduction to adaptation and resilience. Extreme heat waves, droughts, flash floods and storm damage pose not only environmental risks but also serious economic and social risks. Munich Re estimates that global economic losses from natural disasters exceeded $300 billion in 2024, while the UN predicts that natural disasters could increase by up to 40 percent by 2030 if we do not accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Although 2024 went down in history as the warmest year on record, data for 2025 so far has not changed that. According to the summary of the University of Szeged, even periods with a natural cooling effect no longer significantly mitigate warming, while the average temperature increase in Hungary exceeds 2 degrees Celsius.

In our country, the agricultural damage caused by drought, the increasingly extreme load on the energy supply and the challenges of water management make it clear that adaptation is not only an environmental issue, but also a financial one. The effects of climate change directly affect households, businesses and the economy as a whole, therefore, infrastructure development, energy storage solutions, more flexible networks and long-term thinking are now needed to manage climate risks.

“In this situation, one of the most important tasks is to strengthen social education and involvement. According to international and domestic online search data, the search for information related to climate change has noticeably increased in recent years, especially during extreme weather events. At the same time, international surveys show that the increased amount of information remains fragmented and difficult to interpret for many. There is an increasing demand to communicate about climate change not as an abstract global problem, but to help people understand what it means in Hungary in 2026 and what decisions and measures this requires in everyday life and in company management”

– said Levente Suba, Sustainability Manager of the K&H Group.

The issue of adaptation is also becoming increasingly prominent in the international financial and insurance sector. According to estimates, the global market for adaptation and resilience investments could represent several thousand billion dollars by 2050. It is no coincidence that governments, investors and companies increasingly talk about climate change-related investments not as an environmental issue, but as a security and economic stability issue. Sectors and actors that are not prepared for extreme weather risks may face operational and financial difficulties in the long term.

Adaptation also means concrete steps at the everyday level. In agriculture, this means introducing drought-tolerant plant varieties, building modern, water-saving irrigation systems or applying soil conservation cultivation techniques. In households, rainwater harvesting, shading, strengthening thermal insulation or architectural reinforcement against storm damage are becoming increasingly important. In settlements, increasing green spaces, water retention parks and flood protection developments can help mitigate the effects of extreme weather. For companies, this also means diversifying energy supplies, rethinking supplier risks and reviewing insurance coverage.

The acceleration of climate change has made it clear that the question is no longer whether we need to adapt, but how well we can respond in a prepared and knowledge-based manner. In the future, those societies and economies that are able to adapt to changing climate conditions not only technologically, but also in terms of knowledge and attitudes will be more resilient.