ClimateWise brings together the insurance industry into a member network convened by The University of Cambridge Centre for Sustainable Leadership, which integrates sustainable leadership with world-leading research capability to address the impacts of climate change. ClimateWise is uniquely placed to bring together business, government and academic expertise; it provides a collective voice for the industry, a forum to interact with other stakeholders and; and it enables the transition of the insurance industry through a defined set of Principles aligned to disclosure requirements.

Decisions and positions of the group do not represent the policies or positions of CISL or of the wider University of Cambridge.

Areas of focus

Disclosure

ClimateWise members are required to annually disclose their firm’s response to climate change through the ClimateWise Principles framework. Member reports are independently assessed, scored and benchmarked as a means to track and incentivise progress year on year. A
collective public review is published each
year which serves to inform regulators and broader financial markets on the insurance industry’s response to climate change.

Research

ClimateWise undertakes impact-orientated, collaborative research to help insurers and the wider financial sector proactively
respond to the risks and opportunities
posed by climate change. Three core
themes focus on the industry’s leadership, regulation and climate-risk.

Convening

ClimateWise membership is open to all (re)insurers, brokers, loss adjusters and other insurance industry service providers globally who are leaders, or aspire to play a leadership role, in supporting the insurance industry respond to the risks and opportunities of climate change.

The Insurance Advisory Council is comprised of C-suite executives from across ClimateWise’s membership base.

"ClimateWise is an important initiative, assisting the insurance industry in its important role to build societal resilience. Insurers have unique insights into the risks that the world is facing and the ClimateWise Principles provide guidance to share this knowledge more broadly; so informing public policy and supporting the identification, understanding and management of climate risk. Through decisive action, insurance companies can facilitate the transition a low-carbon economy that is resilient to a changing climate, while reducing the climate risk protection gap."

Anna Sweeney, former Chair of the Sustainable Insurance Forum and Executive Director, Insurance, Bank of England

Meet the team

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Dr Nina Seega

Director, Centre for Sustainable Finance

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Felicity Alvey

Programme Director, ClimateWise

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Natalie Thompson

Programme Manager,
ClimateWise

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Joanna Wood

Project Manager,
ClimateWise

Latest

Climate Tango: Principles for integrating physical and transition climate-risk assessment with sectoral examples

13 January 2022 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise leads paper on integrating climate-related risk assessment.

Insurance industry must align to Paris Agreement, starting now

20 December 2021 - Bronwyn Clare, Senior Programme Manager for ClimateWise at CISL, argues that partnership between an insurer and their clients on net zero aligned underwriting is critical to a smooth net zero transition for both.

Insurers in Paris-aligned climate transition: Practical actions towards net zero underwriting

13 December 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise initiative has published a new report on net zero underwriting commitment and the practical actions.

Risk Sharing in the Climate Emergency: Financial regulation for a resilient, net zero, just transition

November 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) launches a call to action at COP 26 finance day urging policymakers, financial regulators and industry to expand risk sharing systems at scale to tackle the Climate Emergency.

Climate product innovation within the insurance sector

30 June 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise initiative has published a new white paper on climate product innovation.

Policy opportunities on the road to net zero underwriting: Highlighting three key areas of influence for the insurance industry

This paper from ClimateWise highlights the role of insurance underwriting in mitigating climate risks and supporting the transition to a resilient net zero economy.

ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2020

17 February 2021 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2020 has seen record improvement in scores across the ClimateWise membership.

ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2019

17 December 2019 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2019 is a milestone for ClimateWise members, representing the first year of reporting in full alignment with the Recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Transition risk framework: Managing the impacts of the low carbon transition on infrastructure investments

22 February 2019 – The ClimateWise Transition Risk Framework provides an open-source, step-by-step methodology on how to manage the risks and capture emerging opportunities from the low carbon transition.

Physical risk framework: Understanding the impact of climate change on real estate lending and investment portfolios

22 February 2019 – The ClimateWise Physical Risk Framework demonstrates how the expertise and tools of the insurance industry can support other parts of the financial system to understand their physical risk exposure.

ClimateWise

ClimateWise brings together the insurance industry into a member network convened by The University of Cambridge Centre for Sustainable Leadership, which integrates sustainable leadership with world-leading research capability to address the impacts of climate change.