The ClimateWise Second Year Review
"An international group of leading insurance companies committed to reducing the risks of climate change has continued to push hard for improvements in 2009, despite the ongoing financial crisis."
This is the conclusion of the second independent review of the actions taken by ClimateWise, to enact their own voluntary commitments on climate change. The review, carried out independently by Forum for The Future, the not-for-profit sustainable development organisation, in collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project, noted particular progress in the steps taken by insurers to measure their own emissions.
The review, launched at an event in the City of London on 26 November 2009 attended by representatives of the financial services sector, also found that members of the group have made good progress on better analysis of climate risk and engagement in the international policy debate.
Download the press release here.
Download the full report: 
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Download the Summary: 
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Key findings from the review show that:
- Almost all members (86%) disclosed their direct greenhouse gas emissions using a globally recognised standard, up from 56% in 2008.
- The majority of members are supporting or undertaking climate-related research and incorporating climate change risks into pricing and current risk models.
- The leading companies clearly see the relevance of engaging in the public debate on climate change and have made valuable contributions to the UN climate change negotiations.
- Many members observed that the clarity of the principles and exposure to the activity of their peers had made them fundamentally rethink their approach to climate change strategy and up their game.
Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, said: “The insurance companies in ClimateWise have continued to focus on climate change through the turmoil of the financial crisis, because they realise that this is of great strategic importance to the sector. ClimateWise must support the insurance industry to deliver real change in the way that climate risks are understood and priced, in both insurance and investment.”
Videos from the Launch Event
Video address to ClimateWise members from The Prince of Wales
Introduction to ClimateWise and the Second Year Review
Andrew Torrance, Allianz and ClimateWise Chairman
The importance of collaboration
Peter Sydenham, Swiss Re
Headlines of the Second Year Review
Alice Chapple, Forum for the Future
Focus on ClimateWise Principle 1: Lead in Climate Risk Analysis
Robert Muir-Wood, RMS
Focus on ClimateWise Principle 3: Support climate awareness amongst customers
Paul Pritchard, RSA
Focus on ClimateWise Principle 4: Incorporate climate change into our investment strategies
Neil Brown, SRI, Aviva Investors
Panel discussion: ClimateWise collaboration in 2010
Building on ClimateWise’s Second Year Review
Dr Aled Jones, University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
HRH The Prince of Wales, who launched ClimateWise in September 2007, said:
“It is clear from this review that ClimateWise members are continuing to take an important lead in tackling climate change. The importance of your role as society’s trusted managers of risk cannot be understated. You have a fundamental role to play in the essential task of building the largest public-private partnership that the world has ever seen, to tackle the biggest challenge that it has ever faced.”
Forum for the Future also recommends actions to speed up the pace of change necessary to tackle the problems posed by climate change, including investment strategies to include the systematic analysis of climate change risk; making more progress on incorporating the long-term step changes in weather patterns into long-term business planning; and developing more products that support technologies for tackling climate change, beyond property and renewables.
Andrew Torrance, Chairman of ClimateWise, said: “I am delighted that our independent reviewers have concluded that, overall, ClimateWise members continue to demonstrate good progress across the six ClimateWise Principles. This has been accomplished in the most challenging macro-economic environment experienced for at least 70 years and therefore is an achievement not to be underestimated. It is particularly gratifying that this review draws attention to the fact that the majority of members have found ClimateWise to be an important enabling factor in their progress over the last year.”
