Adaptation10: Personal Climate Defense

Over the past year, we’ve showcased climate adaptation solutions for small businesses, corporations, and communities. But there’s another important customer of adaptation solutions to consider: you!

Individual consumers are expected to be an important driver of the adaptation economy. Analysis by Tailwind Climate estimates that households are already spending US$647bn on adaptation solutions, making up 45% of total demand. This amount is primed to surge as climate shocks pile up. Individuals are growing increasingly aware of the need to build up personal resilience — and the resilience of their personal assets — to floods, fires, and other volatile weather events, and are opening their wallets accordingly.

Extreme heat could prove an especially powerful driver of consumer demand. As we write, heatwaves are rolling across the US and Europe, endangering the health of millions and sapping the productivity of outdoor workforces. Tech, clothing, and personal devices that allow individuals to withstand sweltering temperatures and continue with their daily routines are likely to win many fans in the hotter new normal.

Individual consumers are also scrambling to harden their homes and vehicles against climate shocks. Last year, Europe suffered the most widespread flooding for more than a decade, affecting 410,000 people and inflicting over €18bn (US$21bn) in property and infrastructure damage. The impacts of these extreme weather events are causing repair and rebuild costs to spiral for insurers and governments, making it more likely that households will have to spend more themselves on disaster risk mitigation. 

This trend should drive increased take-up of property-level climate risk analytics by those searching for new homes, and small-scale protective infrastructure and early warning devices for those who want to stay put: like storm-resistant barriers and specialized protective covers for cars and garages.

With this new edition, we aim to shed light on the growing variety of consumer-oriented adaptation solutions: whether it’s finding safer ground, preparing your home, or protecting your health. The lesson? If you want peace of mind, now’s the time to prepare.

Interested in sponsoring a future edition of Adaptation10? Then get in touch here👇

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall & Daniel Schmitz-Remberg