Some might call the talks on Climate Change a little schizophrenic - one arm is trying to mitigate climate change, while the other is busy thinking of ways to adapt to climate change's impact. Now add a third layer: insurance, a precaution in case adaptation to climate change proves impossible.
UNEPFI, in partnership with the World Food Program and a reinsurance company, yesterday gave the conference a foretaste of its report on "Adaptation and Vulnerability to Climate Change: The Role of the Finance Sector." The report advocates for the establishment of public-private partnerships to enable countries like Ethiopia – the first test case – to insure itself against drought induced by climate change.
One panelist commented that this could be a way to maintain the viability of the insurance sector - by providing it with a good business opportunity. In fact, reinsurance was one of the first business sectors to take climate change seriously and balk at its predicted cost. For sure, it is reassuring to find out that the insurance sector might actually find a business case for climate change.
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