Redirecting the Capital Flows of the Insurance Industry

• Main Author: Braun, Alexander
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Wharton Risk Center 2019
• Subjects: business studies; economics; finance; Ocean acidification; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/257497/; https://riskcenter.wharton.upenn.edu/climate-risk-solutions/redirecting-the-capital-flows-of-the-insurance-industry/

Current estimates show that the average temperature on earth has already increased by one degree centigrade since the industrial revolution. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are the major driver of this development, causing temperature anomalies that persist for millenia. Permafrost thawing, extreme weather patterns, ocean acidification, polar cap melting, and desertification are just a few of the irreversible consequences earth could be faced with if mankind fails to take quick and decided action. Fortunately, during the most recent conference of the parties (COP) held 2018 in Katowice, Poland, nearly 200 nations approved obligatory rules for the measurement and reporting of their efforts to mitigate climate change. Clearly, a substantial transformation of power generation and manufacturing infrastructures will be necessary to achieve the long-term temperature goal of 2°C. To accelerate this process, global capital flows should be redirected towards low-carbon technologies. The insurance industry could play a key role in this regard, as both an investor and an insurer.