CLIMATE X ANALYSIS SUGGESTS MAJOR CORPORATES COULD FACE COSTLY EXPOSURE WITHOUT INVESTMENT IN RESILIENCE

Case studies from some of the world's largest companies highlight the scale of potential exposure under weather volatility scenarios, and the compelling returns resilience investments can generate

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Released to coincide with New York Climate Week, new analysis from risk intelligence firm Climate X suggests that some of the world's largest companies face critical investment choices as weather volatility increases. Modeling shows that while risks could run into the hundreds of billions, targeted resilience measures can deliver strong financial returns.

Case studies from a global retailer and a leading US food producer highlight both the opportunity and the challenge of preparing for weather volatility.

Climate X's modeling shows that the global retailer, which has thousands of outlets across North America, could materially reduce potential exposure across its international portfolio with around $2.09 billion of targeted adaptation investment. By comparison, without such measures, modeled exposure could reach $169.3 billion in physical damage and operational disruption, alongside $93.45–$373.8 billion in cumulative additional insurance premiums by 2035 under high-volatility scenarios. To put this in context, real-world disasters such as Hurricane Harvey ($125 billion) and Hurricane Sandy ($70 billion) have already caused multi-billion losses.

At the leading U.S. food producer's processing plant, Climate X modeling suggests that a $1.2 million investment in flood protection could prevent approximately $2.4 million in projected losses over the coming decade, effectively doubling the value of the upfront spend. This is a modeled scenario designed to show the potential returns of adaptation measures.

Both the global retailer and the food producer in question have already acknowledged weather-related risks in their public reporting and are actively investing in sustainability and risk-management programs. Climate X's analysis illustrates the opportunity to build on this progress, highlighting the potential returns on resilience investment.

Weather shocks are already disrupting earnings elsewhere. In 2024, Porsche issued a profit warning after flooding shut down a supplier in Switzerland, leading to production delays and an estimated $2 billion financial impact. Climate X's modeling suggests exposures at companies could be more than ten times higher over the next five years under similar scenarios if resilience measures are not scaled.

"Our modeling shows that in the cases we analyzed, the cost of resilience measures was lower than the cost of inaction," said Kamil Kluza, COO and cofounder of Climate X. "Corporates are now facing major investment decisions as weather volatility increases, and resilience needs to be treated as a strategic business variable. Companies like those we analyzed exemplify both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity to lead."

The data comes from Climate X's newly launched Adaptation & Resilience Marketplace - the world's first and only platform dedicated to Adaptation Finance.

Building on the success of Climate X's Adapt product, already used by many of the world's largest real estate firms, the Marketplace enables banks, insurers and asset owners to assess corporate risk at the asset level and channel capital into resilience projects that deliver both strong financial returns and measurable reductions in losses, from revenue protection to lower insurance premiums.

Through an online platform for climate-stressed real assets worldwide, the Marketplace brings together banks, insurers, investors, and risk engineers to transact with greater speed, scale and accuracy and give fuel to the nascent climate adaptation market.

Kluza added: "Resilience should be viewed as a growth market, not a cost center. Banks that leverage these insights into lending and investment decisions can unlock opportunities in what is rapidly emerging as a multi-trillion-dollar resilience economy, while reducing risk and protecting asset values."

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, recently estimated that revenues from adaptation solutions could reach $4 trillion annually by 2050, four times their level today. Climate X's Adaptation & Resilience Marketplace highlights where inaction can cost multiples more than preparation and enables firms to unlock new revenue opportunities while safeguarding assets against climate-driven losses.

The findings are published in Climate X's new Adaptation & Resilience Whitepaper, available here. Produced by Climate X in collaboration with leading financial institutions, the whitepaper outlines how adaptation finance is emerging as one of the most urgent and commercially viable investment frontiers - and sets out why the financial sector must act now to unlock its multi-trillion-dollar potential.

Some of the world's leading financial institutions have responded to Climate X's analysis, underlining that weather-related risk is already shaping investment and insurance decisions.

Hazem Krichene, Senior Climate Economist at Allianz Research, said: "Adaptation isn't optional, it is the difference between sustained insurability and rising losses. Every step a business takes to reduce its vulnerability directly affects its value."

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SOURCE Climate X