McKinsey Global Institute

This year marks a defining milestone for the United States: 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Anniversaries invite celebration—but also reflection. For much of its history, the United States has been the world’s most competitive major economy. The deeper question, my colleagues and I explored in a new McKinsey Global Institute report, At 250, Sustaining America’s Competitive Edge, is whether it can remain competitive in the future in a far more complex and contested world, writes Kweilin Ellingrud in Forbes.

New McKinsey Global Institute research finds that the business case for climate adaptation is compelling: it’s a strong buy. Every dollar spent today on proven measures like air conditioning, irrigation and sea dikes avoids US$3 in damages on average. At 2°C of warming, that payoff jumps to seven to one, write Mekala Krishnan, Annabel Farr, and Kanmani Chockalingham in Sustainability Magazine.

For decades, Asia-Pacific has focused on spurring growth, building its cities, expanding industry and connecting markets. Now an equally important task is emerging: protecting what has been built, and the people who live and work within it. The region has an opportunity to embed adaptation early as it continues to invest in urbanization, transportation, energy systems and industrial upgrading, write Gautam Kumra and Mekala Krishnan in Bloomberg.