Within the scope of COP31, the summit organized in cooperation with UNEP FI continues at the Insurance House event held by TSB in a hotel on 11-14 November.
The summit brings together leading representatives of the global insurance industry and focuses on solutions and collaborations that can be developed in the fields of climate risks, resilience, reducing protection gaps and sustainable insurance.
In his speech at the opening of the second day of the summit, Butch Bacani, Head of Insurance at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), stated that climate action has two basic dimensions, namely decarbonization and resilience, and pointed out that every climate strategy should cover these two areas.
Stating that in today's program, they will touch upon issues such as how nature can be seen as an ally, Bacani stated that they will also discuss the issue of resilience in a broader context.
Bacani said they will also evaluate how the global insurance industry can support the transition to a low-carbon, net-zero economy.
TSB Secretary General Özgür Obalı stated that in today's program of Sigorta Evi, they will discuss the relationship between climate change and nature, climate-related health risks and the importance of reliable climate data.
Noting that they will also evaluate how the transition to a low-carbon economy can be supported with insurance investments, Obalı stated that in the continuation of the program, views on the future of sustainable insurance will be shared in the process from COP31 to COP32.
"We invite the insurance industry to cooperate"
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Development Partnerships and Program Implementation Director Daniel Kull made a private message speech following the opening speeches.
Reminding that he expects the El Nino weather event to reach its strongest level since 1950, Kull stated that its effects will be more worrying for both humanity and the insurance industry throughout 2027.
Kull pointed out that the arrival of El Nino was known in advance with scientific data and said, "The important point about El Nino is that science has already told us that this event will come. Therefore, if we do not take precautions and prepare, the responsibility for this will be ours. We cannot stop El Nino, but we can prepare for it." he said.
Referring to the global observation and forecast system coordinated and standardized by WMO, Kull drew attention to the importance of international data sharing. Kull stated that the data flow has never been interrupted throughout WMO's history, and that this flow has constantly improved and increased with the developments in technology.
Explaining that they make continuous predictions at different time intervals, Kull gave information about their work ranging from instant predictions to seasonal and annual predictions, climate predictions and projections.
Stating that WMO hosts the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Kull stated that the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) is also carried out within the scope of this program. He noted that within the scope of CMIP, the work of the global research community is coordinated to develop the climate projections used worldwide and the scenarios applied by the IPCC.
Stating that they want important sectors such as insurance, finance and agriculture to contribute to a better understanding of the functioning of the global weather and climate data infrastructure financed by public resources and the elements on which it is based, Kull said, "In this way, we can ensure that the public financing required to continue the functioning of the system remains strong and sufficient. Because everyone needs this system." made his assessment. Kull also stated that they want the system to remain inclusive and open to everyone.
Emphasizing that the system is currently strong and functional, but technology is changing rapidly, Kull said, "The system is currently strong and functioning. However, technology is changing rapidly. We are aware that there are deficiencies in the data and product areas. We would like to hear your opinions. We invite the insurance industry to cooperate with us to contribute to keeping this system, which is a common global public interest, stable and strong. We want the system to be ready for artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, to be able to provide the data you need, to be able to develop your business and innovate based on reliable data." he said.
