Adapting to climate change

Climate change mitigation is vital to curb the damage we’re doing to the planet. Currently, we are likely on a path to an above 2°C future, rather than the desired 1.5°C. But, even if the global community successfully meets the emissions targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, communities will still feel the increasingly adverse impacts of climate change, including extreme precipitation and extreme heat events and flooding for decades to come. This is why climate change adaptation is an imperative. We must adapt to the current and future expected events associated with a changing climate. This means anticipating the negative effects of climate change and better managing their consequences.

Climate change adaptation, like mitigation, is everyone’s business.

Our ambition is to enhance the resilience of the natural world, our customers, our business and the communities we serve to the impacts of climate change.

Climate Resilience by Zurich Resilience Solutions

Through our Climate Resilience offering, we provider solutions that help customers build resilience and reduce losses caused by the the adverse impacts of climate change.

“When we talk about climate change,” explains Amar Rahman, Global Head of Climate Resilience at Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), “we define the risk it presents in three dimensions: hazard, exposure and controls. People usually focus on the hazard: there’s more rain, more wind, more heat. But we develop models and scenarios to help them understand their exposure to those hazards, to identify their vulnerabilities or pain points. Finally, we assess the controls: what can you do to reduce and manage the impact of climate change right now? Climate resilience is about managing those three factors with the tools we have, and not waiting for new data or government regulation before you act. Because if you wait, it will be too late to develop solutions.”

Companies that identify and act on climate risks now will have a better chance to not only survive but to thrive in a new net-zero world.

Amar Rahman PhD, MBA

Global Head of Climate Resilience, at Zurich Resilience Solutions
Commercial Insurance

Flood resilience

Floods affect more people globally than any other type of natural hazard and cause some of the largest economic, social and humanitarian losses. By using Zurich’s risk expertise as a global insurer, we can help customers and communities reduce the devastating impacts of floods - even before a flood hits - and build community flood resilience in a more integrated way. We know that adapting to the adverse consequences of climate change is a worthwhile investment, not a cost.

Source: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/11193/

We know that one actor or sector alone cannot tackle the problem of flooding. We need to work in partnership to combine our expertise and boots on the ground. That’s why, through the funding of the Z Zurich Foundation*, the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (the “Alliance”) was established. The Alliance is a multi-sectoral partnership focused on finding practical ways to support communities in developed and developing countries strengthen their resilience to flood risk. The Alliance’s vision is to stop floods having a negative impact on the ability of people and businesses to thrive.

“Climate change is here,” says Michael Szönyi, Flood Resilience Program Lead. “The effects and consequences are not something for the distant future; they are a reality, and they are happening now. That’s why we must adapt.”

We really need to be able to anticipate what is going to happen in the future, and the statistics of the past are no longer valid.

Michael Szönyi

Head of Zurich’s Flood Resilience Program

* The Z Zurich Foundation is a Swiss-based charitable foundation established by members of the Group. It is the main vehicle by which Zurich Insurance Group delivers on its global community investment strategy. All members of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, with the exception of Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, are funded by the Z Zurich Foundation.