Report

Climate adaptation 2026 report

Explore key findings and takeaways from the 2026 survey

Marsh’s Climate Adaptation Survey helps businesses prepare for the changes and challenges ahead.

Climate risk is becoming more complex, more systemic, and more immediate. Effective adaptation now goes beyond protecting physical assets, operations, and people — it also depends on the suppliers, infrastructure, and wider systems organizations rely on.

Now in its third year, Marsh Risk’s 2026 Climate Adaptation Survey captures the views of more than 120 organizations across eight regions. It looks beyond physical assets to examine the wider network of operations, people, suppliers, infrastructure, and communities they rely on — revealing where resilience is strengthening, where vulnerabilities still persist, and where the greatest opportunities for action lie.

The survey shows that, despite facing multiple climate-related hazards, many organizations are not conducting forward-looking assessments. And among those that do, many are not acting on the results. For example, 60% of respondents are grappling with multi-perils, such as flood, extreme heat and water stress, yet only just over half of the respondents are conducting an assessment.

Taken together, the survey results offer a benchmark to help organizations prioritize action and shape their climate adaptation strategies. They also highlight both encouraging progress and persistent gaps in preparedness as businesses respond to a changing physical risk landscape.

Findings in detail for business leaders and risk managers

Respondents are grappling with multiple hazards (60%) with flooding, extreme heat and water stress emerging as the top three risks — and in regions like Asia, all three are occurring simultaneously.
The case for forward-looking assessment has never been clearer, yet only just over half (57%) are actually doing it.

Of those who are conducting forward-looking assessments, the methodology has become more sophisticated: the share (77%) using quantitative methods has increased from last year (52%).
Physical assets remain the primary focus of assessment (91%), but respondents are widening the lens — increasingly assessing risks to critical infrastructure (62%) and suppliers (54%) as climate damage extends far beyond property damage.

Despite fewer than half of respondents conducting forward-looking assessments, majority (78%) are considering or developing adaptation strategies — with a quarter of respondents (26%) having a formal plan in place.
The shift is also telling: respondents are moving beyond asset-level resilience (40%) toward system-level adaptation, including business continuity planning (54%), collaborating with local government on place-based resilience (35%), strengthening supply chains (35%), and partnering with critical infrastructure providers (28%).
This signals a clear message: climate impacts are rippling through operations, supply chains, and the wider systems businesses rely on. It also echoes our property engineering findings, where emergency response emerged as the key opportunity identified through site surveys.

A quarter of respondents (24%) are concerned about insurance availability at their next renewal and concern rises (62%) significantly over a five-year horizon. Respondents can capitalize on the benign market to strengthen their resilience and prepare for future hardening.
Yet only 26% say adaptation measures are being recognized in insurance negotiations, showing that while documented risk reduction can help, translating adaptation into tangible insurance benefit still has a long way to go.

Risk management remains the dominant driver for action (40%), elevating the need for climate adaptation from an operational concern to a strategic one.
Beyond risk management, external drivers include government and regulatory (31%) and investor pressure (25%), all shaping organizational priorities.

Marsh recommends that organizations focus on five priorities:

Modeling the combined effects of acute and chronic hazards.
Assessing vulnerabilities and dependencies at both asset and system level.
Establishing measurable adaptation plans.
Documenting resilience improvements in a form that can be shared with insurers and capital providers.
Collaborating with governments, infrastructure providers, communities, and industry peers to address risks beyond organizational boundaries.

Contact us to discuss how these priorities apply to your organization and how Marsh can support you.

Forest fire burns trees on a hillside during twilight

Report

Climate adaptation 2026 report

Marsh’s Climate Adaptation Survey helps businesses prepare for the changes and challenges ahead.

Findings in detail for business leaders and risk managers

Marsh recommends that organizations focus on five priorities:

Contact us to discuss how these priorities apply to your organization and how Marsh can support you.

Our people

Bruno Dotti

Callum Ellis

Nick Faull

Dr. Graeme Riddell

Rodrigo Suárez

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Climate adaptation 2026 report

Marsh’s Climate Adaptation Survey helps businesses prepare for the changes and challenges ahead.

Findings in detail for business leaders and risk managers

From heat to water stress, organizations are responding to a changing physical risk landscape

Those doing forward-looking assessments are doing it better, and looking well beyond asset damage

Forward-thinking respondents are starting to invest in system resilience as part of their adaptation strategy

Insurability concerns are rising but translating adaptation into insurance outcomes still has a long way to go

From operational concern to boardroom priority – risk management is the primary adaptation driver

Marsh recommends that organizations focus on five priorities:

Contact us to discuss how these priorities apply to your organization and how Marsh can support you.

Our people

Bruno Dotti

Callum Ellis

Nick Faull

Dr. Graeme Riddell

Rodrigo Suárez

Related insights

Addressing insurability: A playbook for investing in place-based resilience

Changing the playbook: Climate risk in the global sports industry

Investing in resilience

Risk in Context Podcast: Insurability’s critical role in climate-impacted investments