Leadership in Action against Climate Change : A View from the White House and the Insurance Industry

Within the framework of the “Paris Climat 2015: Make it work” initiative.

Cycle “Economists facing Climate Change”.

 

With Alice Hill, the White House

and Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Wharton Business School 

Introduction by Emeric Henry, Associate professor, Department of Economics, Sciences Po

Moderation by Jean-Guillaume de Tocqueville, Partner at Gide

 

Of all impacts of climate change severe climate catastrophes are maybe the most visible to many people. And those will only get worse unless we better adapt to the new normal. Growing concentration of individuals and assets in high-risk areas around the globe, combined with social and economic interdependencies, will soon make those even more disruptive. While building resilience to climate catastrophes is a shared responsibility, country presidents, prime ministers and finance leaders have enormous leverage and an essential role to play, for their own sake and that of the Planet.

 

This lecture will discuss key initiatives currently implemented at local, national and international levels under the leadership of the President of the United States. Some will make the headlines; others will not. But altogether they constitute a very concrete portfolio of actions that build resilience and which can be implemented elsewhere with great benefit.

 

The lecture will then move to actions taken by leaders of perhaps the most misunderstood industry in the world, yet the largest of all– insurance. Insurers can decide to provide financial protection against climate risks or not; they can prioritize the large amount of capital they invest every year as asset managers into this problem, or not. What they ultimately decide will affect all of us.

 

 

Alice Hill is the senior director for resiliency policy on the National Security Council at the White House. In this role, she oversees preparedness and resilience issues arising from climate change for the President of the United States.

Erwann Michel-Kerjan is Executive Director of the Center for Risk Management at the Wharton School, one of the world’s premier business schools. An authority on economic resilience, he has led notable initiatives in that space and advises several heads of state and corporations.