Although 45 percent of European Union firms are investing to address climate change, many are struggling to adapt to future regulatory changes that will impact their businesses, according to a new report from the European Investment Bank (EIB) titled European firms and climate change 2020/2021: Evidence from the EIB Investment Survey.
Building on an earlier investment survey that included interviews with 13,500 E.U. firms, the report states that nearly half of firms in the European Union have invested in energy efficiency, up from 37 percent in 2019 to 47 percent in 2020. However, uncertainty about regulation and taxation and investment costs are the biggest constraints to climate-related investments in the European Union.
The report outlined two main types of climate-related risks facing firms: direct physical risks and transition risks that arise from society’s response to climate change. Physical risks are easier to observe and for firms to understand, wh