Following the publication of the European Commission’s new EU strategy on adaptation to climate change, Nicolas Jeanmart, head of personal and general insurance at Insurance Europe, commented:

“We welcome the EC’s strategy to enhance adaptation to climate change: in particular, the EC’s ambitions to tackle the climate protection gap and to increase efforts to boost prevention and resilience at all levels. European insurers stand ready to contribute to this work with their long-standing expertise in this area.

“We agree that, given the scale of the challenge that climate change presents, EU action to increase adaptation efforts must be ambitious. Indeed, some of the consequences of climate change are already becoming apparent. This means that, as acknowledged by the EC, mitigation actions alone are not enough to address the economic, social and environmental implications of a changing climate.

“Adaptation action needs to occur at all levels, from the local to the global. In a European context, it is important to recognise that, while the EU has a key role to play in coordinating adaptation efforts, each member state is affected by climate change differently and the role played by insurance and public authorities also varies significantly from country to country. There should, therefore, be no one-size-fits-all solution at a European level.

“We also agree with the EC on the importance of data to support climate adaptation actions. Europe’s insurers look forward to discussing their experiences in this area and, more generally, to continuing to engage with the EC on climate adaptation.”

Insurance Europe