The ambition to transition the economy to net-zero carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement objectives will have to be translated to all sectors of the economy in order to be successful, according to Gabrielle Siry head of sustainable finance, European cooperation at ACPR International Insurance Affairs Department.
Siry was speaking on an Insurance Asset Risk webinar on the policy and regulatory response to insurers' push towards net-zero.
"Insurance regulation is risk-based and so as supervisors the questions we ask ourselves are 'what are the climate change risks facing financial institutions and how can these risks be best managed?'," she said when asked if the regulatory environment was fit for a net-zero world, underlining that fossil fuel-related assets pose a risk to both financial institutions - because of the so-called 'transition risks' - and to environment. "And risk management alone is not enough to ensure the transition to a net-zero economy."
The webinar was the third episode in Insurance Asset Risk's series on net-zero. The first two episodes covered the first steps in the net zero journey, and what a net zero investment portfolio is. All past episodes are available for free on demand and are accessible here.
Siry referenced a number of publications during the webinar which can be accessed here:
- COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) .../... amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 as regards the integration of sustainability risks in the governance of insurance and reinsurance undertakings
- SIF/IAIS Application Paper on the Supervision of Climate-Related Risks in the Insurance Sector