Willis Group Holdings Joins ClimateWise
London, 01 December, 2010--Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH) has become the newest member of ClimateWise, the global collaboration of leading insurers focused on reducing the risks of climate change.
As one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance brokers, with 17,000 employees and operations in 120 countries, Willis will play a prominent role in supporting the ClimateWise Principles on a global scale.
Commenting on the decision to join ClimateWise, Grahame Millwater, President of Willis Group, said: “Climate change poses a number of new risks to the insurance and reinsurance industries. Our collaboration with other leading insurers through ClimateWise will help us further understand our exposure to these emerging risks and develop solutions that will benefit our business, our clients, and society.”
ClimateWise Chairman, Andrew Torrance, added: “Willis’s decision to join ClimateWise is great news. The addition of such a significant global broker to ClimateWise’s ranks demonstrates just how seriously the insurance industry is taking the climate risk issue. As a leading broker, Willis will add enormous value to ClimateWise’s efforts to work with its members, governments and businesses to bring about the urgent climate solutions society needs.”
Science, finance and policy: unlocking climate uncertainty`
Latest climate modelling research to be presented for the first time
London, UK, 24 November 2010 - Leading figures from the world of climate science, government and mathematics came together today to hear findings from a ground-breaking research programme aimed at advancing one of the most challenging and economically important mathematical problems of all time - how to reduce the uncertainty of climate change forecasts.
For the last four months, the Isaac Newton Institute at Cambridge University has brought together 100 of the world’s top climate scientists and mathematicians, with the aim of developing new mathematical techniques to reduce the uncertainties that exist in climate system models.
The panel discussion, entitled, Climate Change Question Time, included contributions from leading climate scientists and policy advisers including:
· Lord Adair Turner, chair of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change;
· Sir John Beddington, chief scientific adviser to the government;
· Alan Thorpe, chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council;
· Tim Palmer, Oxford University and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; and
· Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Among other topics, the event covered:
- What new science is needed to reduce uncertainties and make more credible regional climatic predictions?
- How can these new findings guide infrastructure investment in climate change adaptation?
- What’s going to happen to ocean circulation in the coming decade?
- How will the research findings influence the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report?
The Institute hopes its research to improve the accuracy of future climate change impacts will give policy makers and politicians fresh insights on which they can base regulatory decisions about investment in climate change mitigation, adaptation and geo-engineering.
Commenting on the event, Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Financial Services Authority and the UK’s Committee on Climate Change said: "To mitigate the impact of climate change we need to set clear targets for reducing emissions. The ambition of those targets needs to reflect the best scientific understanding of the relationship between emissions and global climate change, and between climate change and adverse human impacts. Understanding the risks and uncertainties which surround future projections and estimates is therefore vital to developing an appropriate response."
Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, said: “The evidence is compelling that climate change is happening, that human activities are the major driver for this and that the future risks are substantial. While there are uncertainties around the pace, magnitude and precise manifestation of some of the climatic changes that can be expected, it would not be prudent to use these as an excuse for inaction."
Sir David Wallace, Director of the Newton Institute, added: "Climate modelling and prediction are critically dependent on the Mathematical Sciences. I am delighted that the Newton Institute is supporting research in this area, and facilitating this engagement with business and Government."
Professor Tim Palmer, Rothschild Visiting Professor at the Institute, a Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University, and a member of the Adaptation Sub-Committee to the Committee on Climate Change said: “Working out how to model the climate system more accurately is one of the most challenging intellectual problems we face today. At this event, we hope to throw new light on the issue and provide an insight into new mathematical techniques which will provide politicians with better forecasts on which to base policy decisions”.
Professor Alan Thorpe, Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council said:
"The weight of scientific evidence that human activity is changing the global climate is unequivocal. What these changes will mean on a regional or local scale is less certain. One of the challenges facing climate scientists now is to enable predictions to be made at this local scale that will help governments, businesses and individuals to prepare for the future and find ways to avert or reduce the potential risks."