Representing a growing global network of leading insurance industry organisations, ClimateWise helps to align its members’ expertise to directly support society as it responds to the risks and opportunities of climate change. ClimateWise, as part of the Centre for Sustainable Finance, is uniquely placed to bring together the insurance industry and related organisations with world class academic expertise and global sustainability leaders to collectively and innovatively tackle climate change.

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

Meet the team

Sid Miller

Programme Director

Dr Nina Seega

Director,
Centre for Sustainable Finance

Latest

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.

Gearing up for regulation: The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2018

December 2018 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2018 finds the largest year-on-year improvement in group mean score against the Principles since 2014, and confirms the full alignment of the updated ClimateWise Principles with TCFD recommendations.

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

The ClimateWise Insurance Advisory council has launched an open-source framework to support investors and regulators assess how the transition to a low carbon economy will impact the financial performance of infrastructure investments. The framework and accompanying step-by-step guide align with the G20 Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and inform practical actions – for asset managers, owners and regulators – on capturing emerging opportunities from the low carbon transition.

Resilient cities: A toolkit for insurers to identify the business case

November 2017 – This toolkit is designed to help insurers identify commercial opportunities, through the development of new products and services that can support cities in their response to natural catastrophes. The toolkit, which is split across two workshops, contains all the material a facilitator needs in order to hold internal conversations on the future role of their organisation in managing the protection gap.

Insurable Cities: The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2017

November 2017 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2017 of the six ClimateWise Principles finds a third year of improved scores for members of the insurance industry leadership group. On its 10th anniversary the report finds the industry has improved its investment activities but members should look to further integrate climate change related initiatives into their core business strategies and look to increase board-level oversight on climate change and sustainability.

The City Innovation Platform: A guide to multi-sector collaboration on resilience

May 2017 – This guide looks at the City Innovation Platform (CIP), a two-day workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2016. The CIP explored how the public and private sectors can collaborate more effectively to deliver sustainable, financeable and insurable infrastructure projects. The workshop involved the active participation from a city network of senior Dar city officials, the insurance industry, asset managers and the private sector.

Investing for resilience

December 2016 – Investing for Resilience explores how the insurance industry can contribute to redirecting substantial flows of capital into resilience enhancing investments. This includes helping in the development of a resilience rating system.

ClimateWise

Representing a growing global network of leading insurance industry organisations, ClimateWise helps to align its members’ expertise to directly support society as it responds to the risks and opportunities of climate change.

ClimateWise, as part of the Centre for Sustainable Finance, is uniquely placed to bring together the insurance industry and related organisations with world class academic expertise and global sustainability leaders to collectively and innovatively tackle climate change.