Insurers in the USA, Germany and Switzerland say a pledge announced last week at a meeting of the world’s biggest polluters to limit global temperatures is essential to controlling the cost of protecting property. Munich Re, the biggest reinsurer, and Zurich Financial Services AG back the target set by the European Union, the USA and 15 more nations to hold the planet to within 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) of pre-industrial times.
The 17-member group, acting on scientific forecasts that excessive warming may spark more severe weather, set the goal as the centerpiece of their declaration in L’Aquila, Italy, after meetings led by US President Barack Obama. The 2-degree cap, supported by the EU since 1996, has gained acceptance from insurers, one of the first corporate converts. Climate change already has helped push insurance rates higher in flood- and hurricane-prone areas such as Florida. If left unchecked, global warming may make the cost of some insurance unbearable.
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