The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Bonn hosted a workshop named "Risk management and insurance solutions in face of climate change: The way forward in Poznan and Copenhagen" on the 30 October which was co-organised by Germanwatch and MCII.
Climate-related risks, in particular extreme weather events, play an important role in the climate debate. Disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation offer huge synergies in this regard. In the UN climate change conference in Poznan, which will take place from 1 to 12 December 2008, this issue will be high on the agenda. Under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA), which is the key forum for the negotiations on a Copenhagen agreement, a plenary workshop will be held in Poznan to exchange government and expert views on possible approaches and frameworks for risk management and risk sharing, including insurance. The international expert network Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) recently prepared a submission outlining possible elements of an international insurance mechanism.
Two key challenges for international cooperation will be to link insurance with incentives to prevent disasters, and to find ways to deliver workable climate insurance solutions to benefit those most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. This expert meeting seeks to discuss and exchange on approaches and questions with a view to also prepare for the upcoming UNFCCC negotiations in Poznan.
Objecitves:
1. Awareness raising about the role insurance can play in climate change adaptation:- Links between risk reduction and insurance
- The insurance and adaptation landscape : macro, meso, micro
- Example of a partnership woth Oxfam to improve adaptive capacity of small shareholder farmers in Ethiopia
2. Insurance in the context of the UNFCCC climate negotiations:
- Poznan risk management workshop
- Contributions by NGOs (including MCII)
- Government positions on insurance and climate change adaptation
You will find further details about the program and the given presentations below:
Session 1 (11.00 to 13.00): Climate risks: Is insurance a viable adaptation option?
- Sven Harmeling (Germanwatch) - Welcoming remarks and introduction
- Daniel Kull (IIASA) - Setting the scene: Climate change adaptation, prevention and insurance
approaches on different levels (macro, meso, micro) - Madeleen Helmer (Red Corss / Red Crescent Climate Centre) - Links between risk reduction and insurance: Challenges and Opportunities
- Dr. Koko Warner (UNU-EHS) - Climate-related micro-insurance in Indonesia – Munich Re experience
Session 2 (14.00 to 15.15): Insurance in the context of the UNFCCC climate negotiations.
- Miwa Kato (UNFCCC secretariat) - Insurance under the UNFCCC: Key aspects of the Technical Paper on mechanisms, including innovative insurance tools to manage financial risks from climate change, and an outlook on the Poznan agenda
- Christoph Bals (Germanwatch) - Insurance Instruments for Adapting to Climate Risks – the MCII proposal for the Bali Action Plan; and frequently asked questions