The world climate summit in Copenhagen is the 15th annual meeting of the 192 signatory states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol, the first international agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gases, was negotiated at the third Conference of Parties in Kyoto in 1997.
In the Kyoto Protocol, the industrialised nation signatories agreed to achieve an overall reduction in emissions of 5.2% on 1990 levels by 2012. In Copenhagen, agreement is to be reached on the main constituents of a follow-up protocol, due to enter into force in January 2013.
To keep global warming within manageable bounds, it will have to be limited to 2°C. The reduction targets will therefore have to be much more ambitious than those of the Kyoto Protocol. All countries which contribute significantly to global warming will have to commit to reduction targets, particularly the USA and China, which have not, to date, done so.
Munich RE supports the IPCC’s call for a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and a 50% drop on 1990 levels by 2050.
It will not be sufficient, however, only to agree upon ambitious mitigation measures. Global warming can no longer be stopped. It can now only be attenuated. Thus, measures will also have to be initiated to ensure Munich RE can adapt to the unavoidable changes. The developing countries that are most vulnerable to global warming will consequently need the support of the rich countries, which caused the problem, and this will also entail setting up an adaptation fund.
Munich Re has initiated a number of major innovative projects in support of both mitigation of and adaptation to global warming. The Desertec Industrial Initiative will provide an important contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions. The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative is supporting adaptation measures undertaken by developing countries facing increasing hazards due to extreme weather events by developing innovative insurance solutions, implemented under the auspices of the UN. In Copenhagen, Munich RE expects the relevant parts of the MCII’s proposals to be integrated into the draft of the Kyoto follow-up protocol.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges mankind faces. Munich RE needs to take steps to combat it for economic reasons as the upward trend in losses caused by weather-related natural catastrophes persists.
