Sustainability report 2019

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CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND PROTECTION FROM EXTREME WEATHER AND RISING SEAS Climate change continues to rise up the global agenda, partly as a result of the United Nations Paris Agreement (COP21) that came into force in November 2016 and the subsequent climate change conferences, most recently in Madrid. Talks at COP25 in Madrid recognized the rising gap between current progress and global goals to limit global warming. The opportunity for businesses to step up to the challenge is bigger than ever. The 2018 special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) incontrovertibly states that the effects of climate change cannot be fully prevented. Today the average global rise in temperatures is already approximately 1.0 degree above pre-industrial levels. The report clearly states that to keep climate change at manageable levels, we need to create a carbon-neutral economy by around 2050 with a halving of emissions by 2030. Approximately 3.5 billion people, half the global population, live within 60 kilometers of the coast and 75% of major cities worldwide are located on the coast, many of which are at risk from the effects of climate change. Furthermore, 1.1 billion people live in flood-prone areas at threat from both rivers and seas. The combination of extreme weather and rising sea levels make the threat of flooding real. change adaptation investments are needed to protect against flooding. The cost for flood prevention range from USD 75 billion per year up to USD 770 billion per year, the latter being applicable if the Dutch safety standards demanding a life protection level of 1:100.000 years of becoming a flood casualty. The World Bank has also determined that the cost of the damages resulting from flooding are 7 to 10 times higher than the cost for adaptation. The World Bank and the IPCC have stated that large investments are needed to mitigate climate change. In addition, substantial climate

HOW WE HAVE RESPONDED Climate change is prompting governments on several continents to take steps to protect their populations against flooding, extreme weather and rising sea levels. Climate change also continues to create business opportunities for Boskalis, with a growing need for climate adaptation measures such as ood protection and land reclamation. An example of this work comes from the creation of new oyster reefs in The Scheldt estuary in the Netherlands. It will protect against wave erosion and create new habitat for migratory birds and fish. This is one of many Building with Nature projects that have been successfully used to develop nature-based flood defenses and restore coastal ecosystems since 2011. ecosystem services are used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to conserve and expand carbon sinks. Biodiversity is rising up the agenda and this will continue as the UN’s 2020 convention on biological diversity will seek to develop the new global policy framework on biodiversity. Our core business, including coastal defense and riverbank protection activities, enable us to provide innovative, solutions to adapt to climate change. We are highly aware of the link between climate change adaptation and biodiversity. Nature based solutions and protecting ecosystems can help with climate change mitigation when

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 – BOSKALIS