Insurance industry urges UN to act on climate change

by David Masters

Story link: Insurance industry urges UN to act on climate change

ClimateWise – the climate change initiative representing 42 of the world’s leading financial services companies – has called upon the United Nations to ensure that the concerns of the insurance industry are considered in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

The insurance industry wants a clear climate change adaptation programme so that it can accurately price insurance coverage against the risks created by global warming.

Representatives from over 190 countries are currently meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, to work out an international agreement on tackling global warming.

Over 11,000 delegates are attending the conference, including those from the business community.

The deal being negotiated in Poland will be finalised next year at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, and will be effective from 2013.

Andrew Torrance, ClimateWise chairman, urged the UN to implement strong climate change adaptation frameworks to minimise the climate risks being faced by people around the world.

Torrance said that climate-change related disasters are set to increase in both intensity and unpredictability.

He added that insurance has a ‘fundamental’ role to play in helping people and business cope with and manage climate change risks.

After the presentation, Torrance said he believed that ClimateWise’s voice was ‘well received’ by the UN.

ClimateWise proceeded to set itself three new 12-month objectives to increase its size and influence:

1. Increasing membership
2. Publicising members’ activities
3. Participating in debate over public policy