As the effects of climate change intensify across the globe, the race to build resilience is taking on new urgency for governments, businesses, and communities alike. From the flooded fields of Punjab to the threatened beaches of Hawaii, the world is grappling with the complex realities of a warming planet—and the need for innovative, multi-sectoral solutions has never been clearer.
On October 10, 2025, Ortec Finance convened institutional investors for a webinar titled "Private assets in focus: Navigating investment decisions," exploring how climate change is reshaping the landscape of private asset investment. According to FinTech Global, the event highlighted a growing trend: institutional investors are increasingly drawn to private assets for their potential to deliver higher returns and stable, long-term income streams. These investments, which offer diversification and inflation protection compared to traditional listed asset classes, are seen as a unique route to bolster portfolio performance.
But private assets come with their own set of hurdles, especially when viewed through a climate lens. Illiquidity and lengthy lock-in periods make it difficult for investors to pivot quickly in response to sudden market shifts or climate-related disruptions. As discussed in the Ortec Finance webinar, this reality underscores the critical importance of integrating climate risk considerations—ranging from physical risks like extreme weather to transition and market pricing risks—into investment strategies from the very start. Climate scenario analysis, presented as a practical tool during the session, is increasingly being used to help investors understand and navigate these risks, building a more robust approach to private asset allocation.
Meanwhile, in the world of food and agriculture, climate resilience is being tackled from the ground up—sometimes quite literally. On the same day as the Ortec Finance event, Nestlé announced a landmark partnership with the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) to bolster the resilience of food supply chains in the face of climate change. As reported by BizClik, the collaboration aims to empower farmers through regenerative agriculture practices, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and integrating livestock. These techniques are designed to improve soil health, foster biodiversity, and increase water retention, all while making global food systems more robust against climate shocks.
In 2024, Nestlé had already surpassed its sustainability targets by sourcing 32% of its coffee from farmers using regenerative agriculture—well above its 2025 goal of 20%. Through its Nescafé brand, the company has invested in helping coffee farmers transition to practices like soil cover, composting, and optimized fertilization, which not only boost productivity but also reduce production costs. With arabica and robusta coffee prices reaching record highs in 2024 due to adverse weather, these efforts are providing a vital lifeline to farmers navigating an increasingly volatile climate.
The partnership between Nestlé and the WFO is the first of its kind, bringing together a global food company and a farmers’ association representing over one billion farmers from more than 50 countries. Arnold Puech d’Alissac, President of the WFO, put it succinctly: "Farmers are facing the challenges of climate change every day, but they are also driving the solutions. Real change demands holistic approaches and collaboration across the value chain. This partnership with Nestlé aims to lead by example, showing how farmers and industry can work together, with trust and respect, to build food systems that are fair, resilient and sustainable for people and the planet."
For Nestlé, the stakes are high. Chris Hogg, the company’s Global Head of Public Affairs, noted, "Nestlé relies on 600,000 farmers globally to ensure a sustainable supply of its raw materials. Farmers, who are deeply aware of today's crop production challenges, are highly proficient at adapting and finding ways to work with the planet's natural resources to produce food. By partnering with the WFO, we want to put farmers at the centre and share their insights and concerns to help inform food policies." The collaboration also seeks to inspire the next generation of farmers by promoting smart farming techniques, including digital tools and AI-driven practices, and by providing education to show how agriculture can be modernized for a changing world.
But not all efforts to build climate resilience are meeting with equal success. In Pakistan, the struggle against climate change has reached a critical juncture. As reported by Dawn on October 11, 2025, catastrophic floods in Punjab have affected more than two million people, laying bare the profound links between climate vulnerability, national security, and social stability. The economic cost is staggering: repeated floods, droughts, and heatwaves have damaged crops, reduced productivity, and strained already fragile fiscal resources. With agriculture employing over 40% of the national workforce, food security and rural livelihoods are at acute risk.
Pakistan’s National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) 2021 and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) approved in 2023 outline comprehensive strategies for climate-compatible development and strengthening defenses against climate shocks. Yet, as Dawn points out, implementation has been stymied by political instability, inadequate institutional capacity, and insufficient financial resources. The article calls for a paradigm shift: climate considerations must be woven into every sector, from agriculture and water management to urban planning and disaster response. Cross-border partnerships—especially concerning water management under the Indus Waters Treaty—are also essential, given the transboundary nature of many climate challenges.
Social equity remains a pressing concern. Vulnerable groups like women, children, and the rural poor are disproportionately affected by climate impacts, threatening social cohesion and national unity. Yet there are glimmers of hope: technological innovation and renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and climate-smart agriculture, offer opportunities to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and create much-needed jobs. Civil society and youth activism continue to play a vital role in raising awareness and bridging the gap between policy and practice, with grassroots initiatives driving adaptation from the bottom up.
Across the Pacific, Hawaii’s iconic beaches are facing an existential threat from rising seas. On October 10, 2025, Hawaii News Now reported on the Surfrider Foundation’s 2025 State of the Beach report, which warns that more than half of America’s beaches could vanish by the end of the century if current trends continue. The University of Hawaii’s School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology (SOEST) has sounded the alarm that 40% of Oahu’s beaches could be underwater in just 25 years—a potential disaster for the state’s tourism-driven economy.
Federal funding cuts have exacerbated the crisis. SOEST lost $28 million in grants this year, forcing layoffs and putting critical research programs in jeopardy. Dean Chip Fletcher explained, "We are scrambling to continue our planning for building resilience in the face of growing heat, sea level rise impacts, such as coastal erosion, wave wash over the shoreline, groundwater rising as the ocean rises and creating new wetlands in our urban communities, the loss of our gravity-based drainage, our stormwater drainage and urban settings, you lose drainage as sea level rises, and then flooding when it rains at high tide and there’s no drainage. That’s called compound flooding. These are all scenarios that afflict our urban areas."
Despite the setbacks, local communities and nonprofits are stepping up, restoring dunes and wetlands, removing invasive species, and building natural barriers using native plants. Emma Haydocy of Surfrider remains hopeful: "Because [climate change] is such a big issue, there’s this paralysis around action, but we know through the work of our network at Surfrider that solutions exist." As Hawaii looks to new funding sources like the "Green Fee"—a boost to the state’s transient accommodations tax for tourists—there’s cautious optimism that science-based resilience efforts can get back on track, provided projects can demonstrate rapid, tangible results.
From institutional investors recalibrating portfolios to farmers reimagining agriculture, from policymakers in Islamabad to coastal communities in Hawaii, the quest for climate resilience is shaping the future. The challenges are daunting, but the drive for innovation, collaboration, and community action is offering a path forward—one that just might weather the storms ahead.
