Potential, negative and positive effects on the economy, environment and people

Climate changes can cause several negative impacts such as:

Rising sea levels: As global temperature rise, glaciers and ice sheets melt, and sea levels rise. This could lead to flooding of low-lying areas and displacement of millions of people.

Extreme weather events: Climate change leads to more frequent and severe weather events, including hurricanes, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires. These events can cause significant damage to infrastructure, homes, and ecosystems.

Loss of biodiversity: As temperatures rise, many species may be unable to adapt to changing conditions and may go extinct. This could have cascading effects on ecosystem and food chains.

Water scarcity: Climate change is expected to lead to more frequent and severe droughts, which could lead to water scarcity in many regions. This can potentially cause conflicts over water resources and harm agriculture and food production.

Health impacts: Climate change could lead to increased incidence of several diseases. This could have significant impacts on public health and healthcare systems.

Economic impacts: Climate change could lead to significant economic impacts, including damage to infrastructure, lost productivity, and higher costs for disaster relief. These impacts could be particularly severe for low-income communities and developing countries.

In its Global Climate Highlights 2023 Copernicus (the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space program) concluded that 2023 has replaced 2016 as the warmest calendar year on record (records going back to 1850). Extreme weather events (such as flooding, wildfires, drought and extreme heat) in the world in 2023 had significant impacts on human health, ecosystem and infrastructure. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane continued to increase and reached record levels in 2023. There is a great chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023. The urgency to take decisive climate action has never been greater.

Lerøy, is aware of its duty to contribute to taking climate action by reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG).

The organization emits GHG through its operations. Lerøy is performing GHG reporting (Scope 1, 2 and 3) to monitor and control its own and relevant supply chain emissions in order to be able to take appropriate measures for reducing the organization’s GHG emissions.

The organization also implicitly contributes to deforestation by purchasing fish feed. Lerøy is working proactively with its business partners (including fish feed suppliers) to develop alternative fish feed ingredients. In 2023 Lerøy entered a strategic partnership agreement with a fish feed supplier. A strategic partnership agreement ensures that we collaborate with a partner that has an ambition to be deforestation free by 2025.

Lerøy generates waste, including plastic waste, however it is taking appropriate steps to reduce its contribution to waste pollution (for more detailed information regarding waste pollution, please, visit section Water and Waste Management (Environment) in Lerøy Sustainability library 2023.

Lerøy has developed Climate and Energy Consumption Policy which sets out a range of actions and measures aimed at addressing climate change and introducing sustainable business practices. The goal of the policy is to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and reduce risks associated with it.

Actions taken to manage the topic and related impacts:

• Regular reporting and monitoring of GHG emissions in order to be able to reduce the emissions, follow developments and trends and manage the organization’s impact on climate change
• Committing to a Science Based Target to reduce its GHG emissions. The organization has committed to reducing 46% of its overall Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions from base year 2019.
• Adapting to the impacts of climate change – climate changes occur as a result of any organizational activity. The organization is adapting to the impacts of these changes by implementing appropriate measures.
• Participating in different research and development activities which is critical to addressing climate change and trying to find appropriate solutions. Lerøy is participating in several initiatives to help developing new technologies that can help reducing climate change.
• Promote sustainable business practices and increase organizational awareness about climate change and informing stakeholders about what actions Lerøy is taking in order to reduce its GHG emissions. Stakeholders are informed via annual and quarterly reports, web-page updates as well as news articles on social media. The effectiveness of the actions taken is discussed in the company’s annual report. The company also reports to CDP. For its 2023 reporting Lerøy earned A- score (Leadership) in Climate Change section. To earn an A/A- score from CDP organizations must show environmental leadership, disclosing action on climate change as well as demonstrate best practice in strategy and action.