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As a coastal city with low-lying terrain, Hong Kong is frequently affected by extreme weather events and has experienced multiple climate disasters in the past decades. Prof. Guojun He, Professor in Economics, Management and Strategy, HKU Business School & Director of the HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, Ms. Qidan Wang, Ms. Vivi Hu, and Mr. Cheng BI explain that two climate risks are particularly concerning: the occurrence of severe typhoons and rising sea levels. In this regard, the authors have studied how typhoons and sea level rises would affect public housing and conduct scenario analysis on the potential economic losses under different climate pathways. Their analysis shows that the potential damages caused by sea level rise can be more severe, especially in the long run. Under the high carbon-emissions pathway, it is also projected that the asset loss due to sea level rise for the three selected public housing estates would be significantly higher than that caused by typhoons. If climate risks are tackled appropriately, they can be transformed into development opportunities.

Vulture and human death: In India, the disappearance of vultures led to a rapid decline in ecological quality in areas where they once thrived. This not only resulted in increased surface water contamination by pathogens but also caused significant population growth in stray dogs and rats. The functional extinction of vultures has led to an additional 100,000 deaths in India each year, reaching nearly USD 70 billion annually in economic losses.

Today, in the face of complex environmental, social, and governance challenges, ESG has become a central focus for businesses. In the past, businesses often improved their ESG ratings by following the criteria of various rating agencies. However, with around 600 ESG rating agencies worldwide, each with its own standards, rating inconsistencies are common. This means that even with significant efforts in ESG, companies may still receive varying ratings.

Today, in the face of complex environmental, social, and governance challenges, ESG has become a central focus for businesses. In the past, businesses often improved their ESG ratings by following the criteria of various rating agencies. However, with around 600 ESG rating agencies worldwide, each with its own standards, rating inconsistencies are common. This means that even with significant efforts in ESG, companies may still receive varying ratings.

The academic community positively impacts ESG development by integrating government, business, and academia, sharing results with both sectors. Professor He Guojun from HHKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute suggests that the government can propose needs or build platforms, allowing academia to provide targeted research and solutions. Additionally, the government should offer funding and simplify administration to help transform and commercialize research outcomes, aiding companies in market competition.

Extreme weather incidents are becoming more frequent, bringing unprecedented challenges to various industries. In addition to the increasing costs of equipment maintenance and emergency measures, the enterprises’ production plans may be affected by equipment damages and supply chain interruptions. Investors are also concerned about the impact of extreme weather on businesses, resulting in fluctuations in stock prices and increased financing costs.

Extreme weather incidents are becoming more frequent, bringing unprecedented challenges to various industries. In addition to the increasing costs of equipment maintenance and emergency measures, the enterprises’ production plans may be affected by equipment damages and supply chain interruptions. Investors are also concerned about the impact of extreme weather on businesses, resulting in fluctuations in stock prices and increased financing costs.

观察近年来全球气温变化情况，相对于上世纪五、六十年代，赤道周围的温度上升幅度不大，温度上升幅度大的反而是像北极这样的高纬度地区。而这些高纬度地区长期冰雪覆盖，所以温度上升导致冰雪融化，从而导致海平面急剧上升。2017年发表在Science上的一篇文章表明，地表平均温度上升超过2度以后，超额死亡造成的社会经济成本是最主要的一部分，随着温度持续升高，死亡人数就会大幅度上升。

We conducted a nationwide field experiment in China to evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of assigning firms to public or private citizen appeals when they violate pollution standards. There are three main findings. First, public appeals to the regulator through social media substantially reduce violations and pollution emissions, while private appeals cause more modest environmental improvements. Second, public appeals appear to tilt regulators' focus away from facilitating economic growth and toward avoiding pollution-induced public unrest. Third, pollution reductions by treated firms are not offset by control firms, based on randomly varying the proportion of treated firms at the prefecture level.