Industry commits to boost climate-change resilience for the most vulnerable countries
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Nov 2019
The insurance industry, along with the United Nations, Germany and the UK, recently announced a series of coordinated commitments aimed at increasing climate-change resilience for the most vulnerable countries in the lead-up to the UN secretary general’s Climate Summit which was held on Monday.
The organisations teaming up to deliver on these commitments are the United Nations Development Program, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the UK Department for International Development and the Insurance Development Forum.
The commitments will contribute risk management expertise and capital to realise Vision 2025 of the InsuResilience Global Partnership which seeks to ensure that 500m poor and vulnerable people worldwide will be covered against disaster and climate shocks by 2025 via pre-arranged risk finance and insurance mechanisms. The vision also includes increasing the percentage of annual climate and disaster losses covered by risk finance and insurance.
“We stand at a pivotal moment in time with climate change causing more frequent and more severe storms, floods and droughts. Our environment, water resources and biodiversity are under assault from pollution, warming oceans, rising sea levels and ever-increasing temperatures – insurance and risk financing are critical means to help tackle these issues properly,” said UNDP administrator Achim Steiner.
Role of insurance to help the most vulnerable
AXA and IDF chairman Denis Duverne affirmed the role of re/insurance in helping to inform resilience and better adaptation to climate change and development.
He said, “Given the risks countries face today, our industry has a responsibility to take the lead in driving action that is needed from both the public and private sector. Our industry commits not only to the offered $5bn re/insurance capacity but to develop and share openly accessible modelling platform and ecosystem infrastructure for climate risk models and our expertise to help build up risk management capabilities in those countries that need it the most.”
The ‘IDF Practical Guide to Insuring Public Assets’ which represents a concrete tool to help countries benefit from the capabilities the insurance industry can contribute to was also launched concurrently. A