Co-operators CEO urges insurance industry to "confront the climate crisis head-on"

Co-operators CEO urges insurance industry to “confront the climate crisis head-on” | Insurance Business Canada

Environmental

Co-operators CEO urges insurance industry to “confront the climate crisis head-on”

Insurer details efforts towards climate resilience

Environmental

By
Terry Gangcuangco

Co-operators detailed its response to the financial challenges and climate-related disturbances in 2023 in its Integrated Annual Report. The Canadian insurer and financial services co-operative has emphasized its commitment to pioneering and funding solutions to these challenges.

Rob Wesseling (pictured), president and chief executive of Co-operators, said: “Our industry and indeed all of society is reckoning with the impacts of climate change; impacts that will worsen unless we move to better protect our communities.

“As insurers, our business models need to expand to include a greater focus on resilience. We need creative, whole-of-society partnerships and imaginative ideas that confront the climate crisis head-on, because every day and every year that we don’t move forward with substantial action increases the risks and the costs to society.”

Co-operators said it has channelled its robust financial standing towards initiatives focused on climate mitigation, enhancing community resilience, and supporting a net-zero, sustainable economy.

Over the past year, it paid out $2.77 billion in claims and benefits to its clients and allocated a significant portion of its capital to enhance the sustainability and resilience of Canadian communities.

By the close of 2023, Co-operators had invested 48.4% of assets – totalling $5.90 billion – in investments aimed at climate transition and impact, which deliver both financial returns and measurable positive social or environmental impacts. The company has set goals to increase this to 60% by 2030 and achieve a net-zero investment portfolio by 2050.

Co-operators has also initiated steps to foster a new market for resilience investing in Canada, aiming to channel private capital into vital climate-adapted infrastructure and to boost resilience at the levels of households, communities, and ecosystems.

Its efforts include partnerships with ICLEI Canada and 10 municipalities across the country on the Financing Resilient Infrastructure Project to identify resilient infrastructure projects that can attract private investment.

The Co-operators report asserts that its investment and asset management strategies aim to shift the economy towards one that fosters sustainable, resilient communities.

By leveraging its financial resources to address and adapt to the climate crisis, and by encouraging similar actions from others, the co-operative is spearheading a focused, coordinated effort to reduce societal risks while nurturing Canada’s environmental, social, and financial fabric.

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