The ClimateWise Insurance Advisory Council is a group of C-suite executives drawn from across ClimateWise’s global membership base. They commission impact research into ways the insurance industry can support the zero carbon, climate-resilient transition.
Insurance is among the industries most affected by climate change due to what it insures and invests in. Consequently, insurers are keen to mitigate the risks of climate change. While many organisations have worked voluntarily, both individually and in leadership groups, a more co-ordinated response is required across the financial system. This requires a combination of industry leadership supported by cutting-edge research and analysis.
The Council’s purpose is therefore to draw on the University of Cambridge and its partners’ expertise to help strengthen the industry's response and inform regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders on how to promote more systematic responses to climate change across the financial system.
The Council was established in 2016 and is currently chaired by Dominic Christian CEO, Aon UK Ltd and Aon Benfield, Executive Chairman, International.
For queries relating to the Council, please contact us.
Council members
 Dominic Christian
Global Chairman Reinsurance Solutions at Aon
“Aon has all too often seen the impact of weather-related events on individuals, families, communities and societies. Reinsurance plays a not inconsiderable part in mitigating the impact of Mother Nature, but still needs to do a better job in understanding more precisely the growing impact of climate change on clients across the Globe.”
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 Stephen Catlin
Special Advisor to XL’s Chief Executive Officer, XL Group plc
“I hope my other roles as Chairman-elect of the International Insurance Society (IIS) and Chairman of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) benefit the work of the Council as I can co-ordinate and align all organisations. I believe there is an urgent need to address the current misalignment between the need for sustainable investment activities, on the one hand, and a limiting regulatory environment on the other.”
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 Rowan Douglas CBE
CEO for Capital, Science and Policy Practice, Willis Towers Watson
“There is growing recognition of the critical role that insurance and its related capabilities play: from science and modelling, to disaster reduction and humanitarian responses, to building national and community resilience. A particular opportunity is to help regulators and other authorities from outside re/insurance learn about the hard-won lessons, and the approach towards disclosure and risk management that our sector has developed over the last two decades, to see how this might be applied more widely.”
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 Jon Dye
CEO, Allianz UK
“As an industry that is both highly sensitive to extreme weather and a major institutional investor, we have a responsibility to anticipate the risks of climate change, care for customers who have to deal with the inevitable changes and enable the transition to a low carbon society.”
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 Huw Evans
Director General, Association of British Insurers (ABI)
“The ClimateWise Council offers a great opportunity to deepen regulators’ understanding and engagement with climate change.”
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 Charles Franks
Group CEO, Tokio Marine Kiln
“My interest in the Advisory Council is born of a belief that we all have a responsibility towards our planet, both in our business and personal lives. As an insurer we should look to deliver this responsibility through all the channels available to us.”
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 Alex Hindson
Chief Risk Officer, ArgoGlobal
“ArgoGlobal has determined that climate change is a key enterprise risk. We will therefore benefit from access to the Council to understand the direction and trends on climate governance in the insurance industry.”
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 William McDonnell
Chief Risk Officer, RSA Insurance
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 John Parry
Chief Financial Officer, Lloyds
“I firmly believe we can help society accept the risks of climate change as a given and immediate concern, and use our horizon scanning and understanding of risk to devote resource to loss resilience. I want to drive global responses now, not when it is too late.”
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 Simon Beale
CEO, MS Amlin
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 John Scott
Head of Sustainability Risk, Zurich Insurance plc
“Our commitment to the Climatewise Insurance Advisory Council, the Climate Risk Statement of the Geneva Association and through joining the Paris Pledge for Action, is to help policymakers fully understand the nature of climate change risks and identify opportunities to support system-wide responses to climate change.”
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Patrick Tiernan
Managing Director, Aviva Global Corporate & Specialty
“Aviva and I are passionately committed to the prevention agenda for our customers and our communities, particularly in areas such as climate risk where we can play a leading global role on their behalf. The Council brings leadership focus and global expertise in risk management, modelling and data analytics to the challenge of building greater resilience into local and global systems to respond to climate change.”
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 Steve Weinstein
Group General Counsel and Chair, RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation, RenaissanceRe
“We believe strongly to address the rising risks of climate related natural disasters, and to close the insurance protection gap, governments, regulators, academics, private sector firms and other leaders must collaborate. I am honoured to join the Council and further RenaissanceRe’s commitment to fostering partnerships amongst the insurance sector, regulators and policymakers worldwide, and the climate and resiliency communities.”
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