Investment in G7 climate risk insurance initiative

Canada’s minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced recently that the country would contribute USD50 million to the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance to help people in developing countries protect themselves against the economic consequences of more intense and increasingly frequent natural catastrophes.

“The risks and costs of climate change on developing countries are very significant and Canada is proud to do its part in providing greater access to insurance,” McKenna said in a press release.

Insurance helps poor and vulnerable countries build resilience to the impacts of climate change by covering a portion of the risks that arise from natural hazards and extreme weather events, such as severe flooding, droughts or heavy storms, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in the release. Together with the G7 and partner countries, “Canada is working to provide up to an additional 400 million poor people with insurance against the risks of climate change by 2020,” the ministry reported. Canada’s contribution to the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance will help to stimulate greater coverage of effective climate risk insurance markets in countries that are the most vulnerable to natural disaster. In doing so, the federal government said that it will work closely with all stakeholders by funding insurance policies.