I have an interest in the world of insurance, which is a far more comprehensive and intricate industry than suggested by domestic insurers’ multi-policy discounts and the like.
In fact, commerce and industry in general would not operate without the insurance mechanism to support it.
Risk management is a related discipline, consisting of insurance (within its "risk transfer" component) and many other elements.
I also have a keen interest in climate change, and have felt for some time that its near-term and longer-term impacts are not fully appreciated by various major participants in the insurance industry. For that reason, I have developed this presentation, which I will soon expand into a more comprehensive discussion paper:
The Path to Product Excellence: Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Enhancing Commun...
Risk management-insurance-and-the-climate-crisis
1. Risk Management, Insurance
and the Climate Crisis
Paul Mahony, 1 December 2013
Images: M. Todesco, Cryospheric Processes Laboratory, City College New York City, http://cryocity.org/ and Image: Jhanz (Dreamstime.com
2. Introduction
This is an extended version of a presentation I gave as guest speaker to a group
of Monash University students in the subject “Principles of Risk Transfer BFF5031”
(Dept of Banking and Finance) on 31st August 2013.
I have previously commented on likelihood and consequences in relation to climate
change in various articles and presentations.
I have used many of the slides in this presentation elsewhere, and have included
them again for completeness. The material will soon be used for a more extensive
discussion paper.
An edited version is used for presentations due to time constraints.
Paul Mahony 2013
For more information, please see terrastendo.net.
Version 2, 3rd December, 2013: Inclusion of banner on Greenland moulin slide (# 54)
Version 3, 5th December, 2013: Inclusion of slide on valuing our natural capital (# 192)
Version 4, 11th February, 2013: Additional slide on hail (#129)
4. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
Paul Mahony 2013
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
5. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Scientists are giving increasingly urgent warnings on the mounting
evidence of human-induced warming and the need for rapid carbon emission
reductions.”
6. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
“Scientists are giving increasingly urgent warnings on the mounting
evidence of human-induced warming and the need for rapid carbon emission
reductions.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Officialdom chooses to ignore these warnings, preferring policy based on
‘political realism’, shorthand for hoping the problem will go away.”
7. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
“Scientists are giving increasingly urgent warnings on the mounting
evidence of human-induced warming and the need for rapid carbon emission
reductions.”
“Officialdom chooses to ignore these warnings, preferring policy based on
‘political realism’, shorthand for hoping the problem will go away.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Business, supposedly the experts on risk management, should take
leadership, but have abrogated any responsibility, given that realistic action
will require a fundamental redesign of the economic system, undermining
established vested interests.”
8. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
“Scientists are giving increasingly urgent warnings on the mounting
evidence of human-induced warming and the need for rapid carbon emission
reductions.”
“Officialdom chooses to ignore these warnings, preferring policy based on
‘political realism’, shorthand for hoping the problem will go away.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Business, supposedly the experts on risk management, should take
leadership, but have abrogated any responsibility, given that realistic action
will require a fundamental redesign of the economic system, undermining
established vested interests.”
“The result is that nobody is seriously addressing the strategic risks to
which we are exposed.”
9. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
try
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at
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xecutiv to ignore these warnings, preferring policy based on
e
“Officialdom chooses
‘political realism’, shorthand for hoping the problem will go away.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Business, supposedly the experts on risk management, should take
leadership, but have abrogated any responsibility, given that realistic action
will require a fundamental redesign of the economic system, undermining
established vested interests.”
“The result is that nobody is seriously addressing the strategic risks to
which we are exposed.”
10. Some thoughts on climate-related risk management
“Perhaps the greatest flaw in the climate debate has been our inability, or
refusal, to address risk and uncertainty realistically.”
try
“Scientists are giving increasingly urgent warnings onal indus
the mounting
012warming andas and co rapid carbon emission
evidencen Dunlop, 2
a of human-inducedional oil, g the need for
I
at
reductions.”
r intern
Forme
e.
xecutiv to ignore these warnings, preferring policy based on
e
“Officialdom chooses
‘political realism’, shorthand for hoping the problem will go away.”
Paul Mahony 2013
l
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ra
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“The result is that nobody is seriously addressing the strategic risks to
which we are exposed.”
11. Paul Mahony 2013
Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt,
Harvard Business School, 2007
Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt, “Grist: A strategic approach to climate”, Harvard Business Review, Oct 2007
12. Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt,
Harvard Business School, 2007
Paul Mahony 2013
“Companies that persist in treating climate change solely
as a corporate social responsibility issue, rather than a
business problem, will risk the greatest consequences.”
Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt, “Grist: A strategic approach to climate”, Harvard Business Review, Oct 2007
13. Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt,
Harvard Business School, 2007
“Companies that persist in treating climate change solely
as a corporate social responsibility issue, rather than a
business problem, will risk the greatest consequences.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“. . . The effects of climate on companies’ operations are
now so tangible and certain that the issue is best
addressed with the tools of the strategist, not the
philanthropist.”
Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt, “Grist: A strategic approach to climate”, Harvard Business Review, Oct 2007
15. Some quotes
Paul Mahony 2013
“This generation has altered the composition of the
atmosphere on a global scale through a steady increase
in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.”
19. Some more quotes
Paul Mahony 2013
“Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving
rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the manmade natural disaster.”
23. Some developments in late 2011
Paul Mahony 2013
Arctic sea ice
Nov 2011: Summer sea ice second
lowest on record. (2012 set a new low.)
24. Some developments in late 2011
Arctic sea ice
Paul Mahony 2013
Permafrost
Nov 2011: Summer sea ice second
lowest on record. (2012 set a new low.)
Dec 2011: “Astonishing”
and unprecedented
releases of methane.
25. Some developments in late 2011
Arctic sea ice
Nov 2011: Summer sea ice second
lowest on record. (2012 set a new low.)
Dec 2011: “Astonishing”
and unprecedented
releases of methane.
Global greenhouse
gas emissions
Paul Mahony 2013
Permafrost
Nov 2011: 2010 highest
percentage increase on
record.
26. Some developments in late 2011
Arctic sea ice
Nov 2011: Summer sea ice second
lowest on record. (2012 set a new low.)
Permafrost
Dec 2011: “Astonishing”
and unprecedented
releases of methane.
Global greenhouse
gas emissions
Nov 2011: 2010 highest
percentage increase on
record.
Paul Mahony 2013
International Energy Agency
Nov 2011: The world is on the brink of
irreversible climate change . . . in five
years global warming will hit a point of
no return after which it will be
impossible to reverse the process.
28. Paul Mahony 2013
Our warming planet
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=123437001
28
29. Paul Mahony 2013
Our warming planet
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=123437001
29
30. Paul Mahony 2013
Our warming planet
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=123437001
30
31. Paul Mahony 2013
Our warming planet
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis, http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgibin/gistemp/do_nmap.py?year_last=2012&month_last=1&sat=4&sst=1&type=anoms&mean_gen=11&year1=2010&year2=2010&b
ase1=1951&base2=1980&radius=1200&pol=reg
31
33. Our warming planet
300
1750
2,000 years
Paul Mahony 2013
Atmospheric concentrations of CO2
Source: Adapted from Australian Academy of Science “The Science of Climate Change:
33
Questions and Answers”, Fig. 4.1, p. 10
0
34. Our warming planet
391 ppm as
at Sep 2012
2000
380
300
1750
2,000 years
Paul Mahony 2013
Atmospheric concentrations of CO2
Source: Adapted from Australian Academy of Science “The Science of Climate Change:
34
Questions and Answers”, Fig. 4.1, p. 10
0
35. The Arctic “Big Melt”
Paul Mahony 2013
1984
NASA Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79256&src=eorss-iotd
35
36. The Arctic “Big Melt”
Paul Mahony 2013
2012
NASA Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79256&src=eorss-iotd
36
37. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
38. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
39. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
40. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
41. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
42. The Arctic “Big Melt”
Paul Mahony 2013
Even with the 2013 increase, the 1981 to 2010 average
was 22% higher than this year’s extent.
National Snow & Ice Data Center, A better year for the cryosphere, http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/10/a-better-year-for-the-cryosphere/
43. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt” – Projected vs Actual
Arctic Summer Sea Ice
Cited in Romm, J. “An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: How We Know Inaction Is the Gravest Threat Humanity Faces”, Climate
Progress, 14 Oct, 2012 http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/14/1009121/science-of-global-warming-impacts-guide/. Originally from
http://neven1.typepad.com/blog/2012/09/models-are-improving-but-can-they-catch-up.html, adapted from http://climatecrocks.com/2011/09/09/graph-of-theday-arctic-ice-melt-how-much-faster-than-predicted/ which in turn based on Stroeve et al. http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2007GL029703.shtml 43
44. The Arctic “Big Melt”
16.9
Volume (area and thickness)
Paul Mahony 2013
3.6
Chart by L. Hamilton, based on Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) data from the Polar Science Center
http://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpress/research/projects/arctic-sea-ice-volume-anomaly/, cited in Romm, J, “Experts Warn Of ‘Near
Ice-Free Arctic In Summer’ In A Decade”, 6 September, 2012, The Energy Collective,
http://theenergycollective.com/josephromm/110216/death-spiral-watch-experts-warn-near-ice-free-arctic-summer-decade-if-volumetrend
44
45. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt” – Exponential Trending
From Brook, B. “Depressing climate-related trends – but who gets it?”, 6 Nov 2011
http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/11/06/depressing-climate-trends/ based on Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System
(PIOMAS, Zhang and Rothrock, 2003) graphs from the Polar Science Center of the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of
45
Washington, http://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpress/research/projects/arctic-sea-ice-volume-anomaly/, reported in
http://neven1.typepad.com/blog/2011/10/piomas-september-2011-volume-record-lower-still.html
46. The Arctic “Big Melt”
“The extra open water already created by the retreating ice allows
bigger waves to be generated by storms, which are sweeping
away the surviving ice. It is truly the case that it will be all gone by
2015. The consequences are enormous and represent a huge
boost to global warming.”
Paul Mahony 2013
Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University
David Spratt, “Big call: Cambridge prof. predicts Arctic summer sea ice ‘all gone by 2015’”, 30 Aug 2012,
http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/08/big-call-cambridge-prof-predicts-arctic.html
46
47. What are the implications for the
Greenland ice sheet?
48. The Arctic “Big Melt”
Paul Mahony 2013
The danger is that an ice-free state in the Arctic summer will
kick the climate system into run-on warming and create an
aberrant new climate state many, many degrees hotter.
48
49. The Arctic “Big Melt”
The danger is that an ice-free state in the Arctic summer will
kick the climate system into run-on warming and create an
aberrant new climate state many, many degrees hotter.
Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic sea-ice is the first domino and it is falling fast.
49
50. The Arctic “Big Melt”
The danger is that an ice-free state in the Arctic summer will
kick the climate system into run-on warming and create an
aberrant new climate state many, many degrees hotter.
The Arctic sea-ice is the first domino and it is falling fast.
Those dominoes include the Greenland ice sheet.
Paul Mahony 2013
Spratt, D and Lawson, D, “Bubbling our way to the Apocalypse”, Rolling Stone, November 2008, pp. 53-55
50
51. The Arctic “Big Melt”
The danger is that an ice-free state in the Arctic summer will
kick the climate system into run-on warming and create an
aberrant new climate state many, many degrees hotter.
The Arctic sea-ice is the first domino and it is falling fast.
Those dominoes include the Greenland ice sheet.
Spratt, D and Lawson, D, “Bubbling our way to the Apocalypse”, Rolling Stone, November 2008, pp. 53-55
Paul Mahony 2013
“It is difficult to imagine how the Greenland ice sheet could
survive if Arctic sea ice is lost entirely in the warm season.”
Hansen, J., “Storms of my granchildren”, p. 164
51
52. Paul Mahony 2013
Greenland Ice Sheet
Scale comparison of Greenland (the largest island) and Australia (the smallest continent) by Joanna Serah, 26 Oct
2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Australia-Greenland_Overlay.png
52
53. Paul Mahony 2013
Greenland Ice Sheet
M. Todesco, Cryospheric Processes Laboratory, City College New York City, http://cryocity.org/
53
54. Greenland Ice Sheet
Paul Mahony 2013
pear
ch disap
g , w hi
t t wo
re formin
sa
more tha
c e of
t, lake
gh
ice shee
, a distan cascading throu
tom
land
reen
e bot
ater
On the G ns (craters) to th
es. The w
ase,
as
n mouli
n many c d lubricates the b
sibly
)i
do w
an
reds, pos
.25 miles
s (1
hund
sheet
kilometre
s the ice
are many
warm
There
moulins
melting.
t he
rther
et.
ting to fu ns on the ice she
sea
contribu
ctions of
f mouli
s, o
s pr oj e
thousand
he IPCC’
or i n t
ounted f
ot acc
cess is n
This pro
.
level rise
M. Todesco, Cryospheric Processes Laboratory, City College New York City, http://cryocity.org/
54
56. Greenland Ice Sheet
Paul Mahony 2013
the
anges in
e to ch
eas is du
as its
ing ar
nowpack
non-melt
the s
in the
rystals in
rkening
ice c
Th e da
ize of the
ds
shape an
es.
rature ris
tempe
NOAA Climate Services, http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/article/2011/greenland-ice-sheet-getting-darker-2
56
59. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html
"Greenland Melting Breaks Record Four Weeks Before Season's End", ScienceDaily, 15 August, 2012,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm
59
60. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html
"Greenland Melting Breaks Record Four Weeks Before Season's End", ScienceDaily, 15 August, 2012,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm
60
61. The Arctic “Big Melt”
Paul Mahony 2013
g at
thawin
one
underg lly
t had
e shee ad dramatica ad
the ic
ce h
ng h
ent of
perc
e melti e sheet surfa
ut 40
ys, th
12 abo just a few da ent of the ic
8, 20
. In
perc
n July
O
surface stimated 97
the
or near ed and an e
rat
accele y July 12.
b
thawed
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html
"Greenland Melting Breaks Record Four Weeks Before Season's End", ScienceDaily, 15 August, 2012,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm
61
62. Paul Mahony 2013
The Arctic “Big Melt”
g at
thawin
one
underg lly
t had
e shee ad dramatica ad
the ic
ce h
ng h
ent of
perc
e melti e sheet surfa
ut 40
ys, th
12 abo just a few da ent of the ic
8, 20
. In
perc
n July
O
surface stimated 97
the
or near ed and an e
rat
way
accele y July 12.
will fall atellite
lting
es
awed b
rall me
th
elt sinc
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year
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st, this
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pheric
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began
ng
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Prof. M ew York
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College
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html
"Greenland Melting Breaks Record Four Weeks Before Season's End", ScienceDaily, 15 August, 2012,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm
62
64. Paul Mahony 2013
Antarctic Warming
NASA Earth Observatory, Antarctic Warming Trends, 23 Jan 2009, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=36736
64
65. Antarctic Warming
Paul Mahony 2013
Between November 9–11, 2013, a large iceberg finally separated from
the calving front of Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier . . . Named B-31 by
the U.S. National Ice Center, the new iceberg is estimated to be 35
kilometers by 20 kilometers (21 by 12 miles), roughly the size of
Singapore.
NASA Earth Observatory, Major Iceberg Cracks off Pine Island Glacier, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82392
65
66. Paul Mahony 2013
All Ice Sheets and Glaciers
NSIDC, “The Contribution of the Cryosphere to Changes in Sea Level”, http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/sea_level.html
66
67. Paul Mahony 2013
All Ice Sheets and Glaciers
NSIDC, “The Contribution of the Cryosphere to Changes in Sea Level”, http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/sea_level.html
67
68. Global sea level rise
Projections to 2100:
IPCC:
Up to 1 metre (but higher values cannot be
excluded)
Vermeer and Rahmstorf: nearly 2 metres
Hansen:
Likely several metres (see next slide) if we
continue with “business as usual”, depending
on impact of negative (diminishing) feedbacks.
Impacts:
Experienced through “high sea-level events” .
Paul Mahony 2013
A combination of sea-level rise, high tide and storm surge.
Increased likelihood with 0.5 of a metre: 100 to 1,000 fold increase
Steffen, W, “The Critical Decade: Climate Science, risks and responses”, Climate Commission, Fig. 8, p. 12
http://climatecommission.gov.au/topics/the-critical-decade/
Spratt, D, “NASA climate chief demolishes denialist claims on sea levels”, 26 Oct 2012, http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/10/nasa-climatechief-demolishes-denialist.html and Hansen, J & Sato, M “Update of Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Loss: Exponential?”, 26 Dec 2012
69. Global sea level rise
What about IPCC’s projection of less than 1 metre?
Only allows for certain short feedback mechanisms, e.g. changes in:
• water vapour
• clouds
• sea ice
Does not allow for slow feedbacks, e.g.:
• ice sheet dynamics;
• changes in vegetation cover;
Paul Mahony 2013
• permafrost melting; and
• carbon-cycle feedbacks.
Spratt, D and Sutton, P, “Climate Code Red: The case for emergency action”, Scribe, 2008, p. 47
70. Global sea level rise
Tim Flannery, Australian Climate Change Commissioner and former
Australian of the Year:
IPCC is “painfully conservative”
because it
Paul Mahony 2013
“works by consensus and includes government representatives from the
United States, China and Saudi Arabia, all of whom must assent to every
word of every finding”.
Spratt, D, “Global Warming – No more business as usual: This is an emergency!”, Environmental Activists’ Conference 2008: Climate
Emergency – No More Business as Usual, 10 October, 2008, reproduced in Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal,
http://links.org.au/node/683 (Accessed 4 February 2012)
70
71. Paul Mahony 2013
Permafrost
Connor, S, “Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats”, The Independent, 13 December,
2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats71
6276278.html (Accessed 4 February 2012)
72. Permafrost
• Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane . . .
have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic
Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of
the region.
Paul Mahony 2013
• The scale and volume of the methane release has
astonished the head of the Russian research team
who has been surveying the seabed of the east
Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20
years.
• Igor Semiletov of the International Arctic Research
Centre at the University of Alaska Fairbanks . . . said
that he has never before witnessed the scale and force
has never before witnessed the scale and force
of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic
seabed.
Connor, S, “Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats”, The Independent, 13 December,
2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats72
6276278.html (Accessed 4 February 2012)
73. Permafrost
Dramatic and unprecedented
Paul Mahony 2013
astonished
has never before witnessed the scale and force
of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic
seabed.
Connor, S, “Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats”, The Independent, 13 December,
2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats73
6276278.html (Accessed 4 February 2012)
74. Permafrost
ionary
at
115 st a
t
t abou ields of
.
ecks a hane f
before
ch
t
n
ied ou vered met
ot see re wide
n
rr
scale e or mo
We ca d disco
"
a
an
nk on kilometr
i
points
le - I th were a
e
astonished
ic sca
nto th ndred
t
i
s
fantas the plume
irectly as a hu
of
went d tion w
Some emissions
ra
Alaska
ncent
o
he
sity of
c
ver
and t
e - the ormal," ch Centre at the Uni
r
osphe r than n Arctic Resear
atm
highoethe International
timesemiletov f
S
Dramatic and unprecedented
Paul Mahony 2013
r
Dr Igo s
nk
Fairba
has never before witnessed the scale and force
of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic
seabed.
Reuters, “Arctic methane release could cost economy $60 trillion: Study”, 24 July, 2013
Connor, S, “Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats”, The Independent, 13 December,
2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats74
6276278.html (Accessed 4 February 2012)
75. Permafrost
s):
erland
Neth
rsity (
iv e
u s Un
st
Erasm
der Ea
un
nd
rsity a
e from
nive
than
of me
idge U
r
se
Camb
e relea
tonn
0 giga ecade
of 5
nario a over a d
Sce astonished
n Se
iberia
S
b”
lio n
e-bom
60 tril
y$
tim
acts b
nomic
co
imp
An “e
hange
te c
lion
l clima
loba
70 tril
is $
se g
nomy
Increa
l eco
globa
of
l value
Annua
Paul Mahony 2013
Dramatic and unprecedented
has never before witnessed the scale and force
of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic
seabed.
Reuters, “Arctic methane release could cost economy $60 trillion: Study”, 24 July, 2013
Connor, S, “Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats”, The Independent, 13 December,
2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats75
6276278.html (Accessed 4 February 2012)
76. Some tangible results of changes in
the Arctic, Antarctica and elsewhere
in the form of extreme weather events
77. Extreme Weather (Storms)
“Further warming of the Greenland ice sheet and of the west and east
Antarctic ice sheets may lead to pulses of ice-melt water which will
cool adjacent ocean basins.”
“The bulk of the continents continue to heat, due to a rise in
greenhouse gases, feedbacks from fires, methane release from
permafrost and reduction of CO2 intake by warming oceans.”
“The resultant ocean-land temperature polarity generates storms,
reflected in the title of James Hansen’s book, ‘Storms of my
grandchildren’.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Similar conditions developed in
November 2010 as north Siberia and
Canada warmed to above 4° relative to
C
1951-1980 while snow storms occurred
in the North Atlantic.”
Glikson, A., “As emissions rise, we may be heading for an ice-free planet”, The Conversation, 18 January, 2012,
http://theconversation.edu.au/as-emissions-rise-we-may-be-heading-for-an-ice-free-planet-4893 (Accessed 4 February 2012).
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis, http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi77
bin/gistemp/do_nmap.py?year_last=2012&month_last=1&sat=4&sst=1&type=anoms&mean_gen=11&year1=2010&year2=2010&base
1=1951&base2=1980&radius=1200&pol=reg
78. Extreme Weather (Storms)
Also:
Latent heat (more prevalent with more water vapour and provides more
energy to fuel storms)
Paul Mahony 2013
Warm land mass (and moisture in the atmosphere behind the warm
front) and colder oceans elsewhere from melting ice (previous slide)
Hansen, J., “Storms of my grandchildren”, Bloomsbury, 2009, pp. 253-257 and Image: Jhanz (Dreamstime.com)
78
79. The link between extreme weather and global warming
– Kevin Trenberth
Paul Mahony 2013
I find it systematically tends to get underplayed . . .
Because one of the opening statements . . . is “Well you
can’t attribute a single event to climate change.”
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
quoted in Romm, J. “Tornadoes, Extreme Weather And Climate Change, Revisited”, Climate Progress, 21 May, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/21/2040221/tornadoes-extreme-weather-and-climate-change-revisited/
79
80. The link between extreme weather and global warming
– Kevin Trenberth
I find it systematically tends to get underplayed . . .
Because one of the opening statements . . . is “Well you
can’t attribute a single event to climate change.”
Paul Mahony 2013
But there is a systematic influence on all of these
weather events now-a-days because of the fact that there
is [more] water vapor lurking around in the
atmosphere than there used to be say 30 years ago.
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
quoted in Romm, J. “Tornadoes, Extreme Weather And Climate Change, Revisited”, Climate Progress, 21 May, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/21/2040221/tornadoes-extreme-weather-and-climate-change-revisited/
80
81. The link between extreme weather and global warming
– Kevin Trenberth
Paul Mahony 2013
It’s about a 4% extra amount, it invigorates the storms, it
provides plenty of moisture for these storms and it’s
unfortunate that the public is not associating these with the
fact that this is one manifestation of climate change.
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
quoted in Romm, J. “Tornadoes, Extreme Weather And Climate Change, Revisited”, Climate Progress, 21 May, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/21/2040221/tornadoes-extreme-weather-and-climate-change-revisited/
81
82. The link between extreme weather and global warming
– Kevin Trenberth
It’s about a 4% extra amount, it invigorates the storms, it
provides plenty of moisture for these storms and it’s
unfortunate that the public is not associating these with the
fact that this is one manifestation of climate change.
Paul Mahony 2013
And the prospects are that these kinds of things will only
get bigger and worse in the future.
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
quoted in Romm, J. “Tornadoes, Extreme Weather And Climate Change, Revisited”, Climate Progress, 21 May, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/21/2040221/tornadoes-extreme-weather-and-climate-change-revisited/
82
83. Paul Mahony 2013
High Sea Surface Temperatures and Floods – Kevin
Trenberth (SST = “sea surface temperature”)
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, “Framing the way to relate climate extremes to climate change”, Climatic Change, November 2012, Volume 115, Issue 2, pp 283-290,
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-012-0441-5/fulltext.html and http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/618/art%253A10.1007%252Fs10584-012-04415.pdf?auth66=1385578067_f8586f44b3eb6d6600165a7d12d3a6ae&ext=.pdf, cited in Romm, J., “Must-Read Trenberth: How to Relate Climate Extremes to Climatic
Change”, Climate Progress, 25 March, 2012, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/25/451347/must-read-trenberth-how-to-relate-climate-extremes-to-climate-change/
83
84. Paul Mahony 2013
High Sea Surface Temperatures and Floods – Kevin
Trenberth (SST = “sea surface temperature”)
Dr. Kevin Trenberth, “Framing the way to relate climate extremes to climate change”, Climatic Change, November 2012, Volume 115, Issue 2, pp 283-290,
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-012-0441-5/fulltext.html and http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/618/art%253A10.1007%252Fs10584-012-04415.pdf?auth66=1385578067_f8586f44b3eb6d6600165a7d12d3a6ae&ext=.pdf, cited in Romm, J., “Must-Read Trenberth: How to Relate Climate Extremes to Climatic
Change”, Climate Progress, 25 March, 2012, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/25/451347/must-read-trenberth-how-to-relate-climate-extremes-to-climate-change/
84
85. Paul Mahony 2013
Ocean Warming
NOAA, “Why did Earth’s surface temperature stop rising in the past decade?”, 8 Nov 2013, http://www.climate.gov/newsfeatures/climate-qa/why-did-earth%E2%80%99s-surface-temperature-stop-rising-past-decade Adapted from Magdalena A.
Balmaseda, Kevin E. Trenberth, Erland Källé, “Distinctive climate signals in reanalysis of global ocean heat content”,
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 40, Issue 9, pages 1754–1759, 16 May 2013
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50382/abstract and http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cas/Trenberth/websitearchive/trenberth.papers-moved/Balmaseda_Trenberth_Kallen_grl_13.pdf
85
86. Evidence from CSIRO and BOM
Paul Mahony 2013
Record and above average rainfall 2 years to Mar ‘12
Source: Bureau of Meteorology
86
87. Evidence from CSIRO and BOM
Paul Mahony 2013
Record and above average rainfall 1 Jan ’97 – 31/12/11
Source: Bureau of Meteorology cited in Climate Commission “Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”
87
88. Evidence from CSIRO and BOM
Paul Mahony 2013
Record hot days
Source: CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, cited in Australian Academy of Science, “The Science of Climate Change: Questions and
88
Answers”, Aug 2010, Fig 3.3 http://www.science.org.au/reports/climatechange2010.pdf
89. Evidence from CSIRO and BOM
Paul Mahony 2013
Record cold days
Source: CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, cited in Australian Academy of Science, “The Science of Climate Change: Questions and
89
Answers”, Aug 2010, Fig 3.3 http://www.science.org.au/reports/climatechange2010.pdf
90. Evidence from Climate Commission
Paul Mahony 2013
Global average rainfall trends 1900 – 2010
Source: Donat, M.G., et al (2013a). Updated analyses of temperature and precipitation extreme indices since the beginning of the twentieth
century: The HadEX2 dataset, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmosphere 118 doi:10.1002/jgrd.50150, cited in Climate 90
Commission" Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, April 2013
91. Paul Mahony 2013
Evidence from Climate Commission
Source: Donat, M.G., et al (2013a). Updated analyses of temperature and precipitation extreme indices since the beginning of the twentieth
century: The HadEX2 dataset, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmosphere 118 doi:10.1002/jgrd.50150, cited in Climate 91
Commission" Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, April 2013
92. Extreme Weather
Paul Mahony 2013
The jet stream is becoming “wavier,” with steeper troughs and higher ridges.
Weather systems are progressing more slowly, raising the chances for longduration extreme events
Image: National Weather Service JetStream - Online School for Weather http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet.htm
Jennifer A. Francis, Stephen J. Vavrus, “Evidence linking Arctic amplification to extreme weather in mid-latitudes”, Geophysical Research Letters
Volume 39, Issue 6, March 2012, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GL051000/abstract cited in Freedman, A., “Arctic Warming is
Altering Weather Patterns, Study Shows”, 30 Sep, 2012, http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-warming-is-altering-weather-patterns-studyshows/
92
93. Extreme Weather
Paul Mahony 2013
ould
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Image: From Weatherunderground, cited in Freedman, A., “Arctic Warming is Altering Weather Patterns, Study Shows”, 30 Sep, 2012,
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-warming-is-altering-weather-patterns-study-shows/
Jennifer A. Francis, Stephen J. Vavrus, “Evidence linking Arctic amplification to extreme weather in mid-latitudes”, Geophysical Research Letters
Volume 39, Issue 6, March 2012, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GL051000/abstract cited in Freedman, A., “Arctic Warming is
Altering Weather Patterns, Study Shows”, 30 Sep, 2012, http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-warming-is-altering-weather-patterns-studyshows/
93
94. Paul Mahony 2013
Superstorm Sandy October 2012
Greene, C.H., J.A. Francis, and B.C. Monger. 2013. “Superstorm Sandy: A series of unfortunate events?” Oceanography 26(1):8–9,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.11 and http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/26-1_greene.pdf , cited in “How Arctic Ice Loss
Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal”, Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 15 March, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/15/1725461/how-arctic-ice-loss-amplified-superstorm-sandy-oceanography-journal/
94
95. Superstorm Sandy October 2012
Paul Mahony 2013
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the Ma rctic sea ic
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the d
Greene, C.H., J.A. Francis, and B.C. Monger. 2013. “Superstorm Sandy: A series of unfortunate events?” Oceanography 26(1):8–9,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.11 and http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/26-1_greene.pdf , cited in “How Arctic Ice Loss
Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal”, Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 15 March, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/15/1725461/how-arctic-ice-loss-amplified-superstorm-sandy-oceanography-journal/
95
96. Paul Mahony 2013
Superstorm Sandy October 2012
Greene, C.H., J.A. Francis, and B.C. Monger. 2013. “Superstorm Sandy: A series of unfortunate events?” Oceanography 26(1):8–9,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.11 and http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/26-1_greene.pdf , cited in “How Arctic Ice Loss
Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal”, Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 15 March, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/15/1725461/how-arctic-ice-loss-amplified-superstorm-sandy-oceanography-journal/
96
98. Paul Mahony 2013
Natural Catastrophes - Australia
(2011 Dollars)
Insurance Council of Australia, “Catastrophe Events and the Community”, http://www.insurancecouncil.com.au/issuesubmissions/issues/catastrophe-events
98
100. High and Extreme Risk - Maplecroft
Paul Mahony 2013
Maplecroft is a US-based risk consulting firm providing a portfolio of
risk analytics, country risk research, mapping and risk calculator
technology to multinational corporations, financial institutions,
governments and NGOs.
Maplecroft: http://maplecroft.com/about/introducing-maplecroft/
100
109. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
6 fold
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures 5 fold
of 2012/132
2 - 7 fold
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
650%
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
Typically several
frequency of extreme inundation events.5 hundred - 1,000
fold
109
Ref: 1. Dr Myles Allen, Oxford University; 2. Sophie Lewis & David Karoly, Melbourne University; 3. Aslak Grinsted et al, University of
Copenhagen (in PNAS); 4. Insurance Australia Group from ANU/IGCC report; 5. Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme
Weather”
110. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+
deaths, losses of €13 billion): 6 fold.1
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
of 2012/13: 5 fold.2
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature: 2 - 7 fold.3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
110
Ref: 1. Dr Myles Allen, Oxford University; 2. Sophie Lewis & David Karoly, Melbourne University; 3. Aslak Grinsted et al, University of
Copenhagen (in PNAS); 4. Insurance Australia Group from ANU/IGCC report; 5. Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme
Weather”
111. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
of 2012/132
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
111
112. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
of 2012/132
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
112
113. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
of 2012/132
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
113
114. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
Increase in frequency of extreme
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+ inundation event
several hundred billion)1
deaths, losses of €13 to 1,000 times.
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
of 2012/132
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
114
115. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
Increase in frequency of extreme
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+ inundation event
several hundred billion)1
deaths, losses of €13 to 1,000 times.
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
Sydney2= 1,000 times.
of 2012/13
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
115
116. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
Increase in frequency of extreme
European heatwaves 2003 (35,000+ inundation event
several hundred billion)1
deaths, losses of €13 to 1,000 times.
Australia’s record-breaking temperatures
Sydney2= 1,000 times.
of 2012/13
Increased100 year event will occur almost monthly.
A 1 in frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
frequency of extreme inundation events.5
Ref: Australian Climate Commission “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 51
116
117. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (> 35,000
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
6 fold
Australia’s record-smashing “angry summer” of 2012/13 (123
records)
2 - 7 fold
Increased building damage from 25%
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise
in temperature3
650%
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in
Typically several
frequency of extreme inundation events.5 hundred - 1,000
fold
117
118. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
European heatwaves 2003 (> 35,000
deaths, losses of €13 billion)1
6 fold
Australia’s record-smashing “angry summer” of 2012/13 (123
records)
Increased frequency of Katrina-strength 2 - 7 fold
“Statistically,
(or greater) hurricanes for every 1oC rise there is a 1 in 500
chance that we are talking about
in temperature3
natural variation causing all these
Increased building damage from records.” 650%
new 25%
Australian Climate
increase in wind speed (40-50k to 50-60k)4 Commissioner Prof Will
Paul Mahony 2013
Steffen, The Age 4 Mar 2013, “Climate
50 cm rise in sea level = increase in key factor in extremeseveral
Typically weather,
change a
frequency of extreme inundation events.5 hundred - 1,000
experts say”
fold
118
120. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Impact
Increased frequency of Category 4 and
5 Atlantic hurricanes by 21001
Double
Increased frequency of extreme
weather events2
10 fold
Probability that 2010 Moscow heat
wave (11,000 deaths) caused by
climate change3
80%
Increased frequency of abnormally wet
or dry summer weather in southeastern
USA4
Paul Mahony 2013
Description
Double
Ref: 1. Climate change, MSNBC, “Study: stronger hurricanes loom. Fewer expected but bigger storms to bring more damage”, commenting on
Knutson et al (2010), 21 February 2010: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35506750/ns/us_news-environment/ and Knutuson, et al “Tropical
cyclones and climate change”, Nature Geosciences, 3, 157 - 163 (2010): http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n3/abs/ngeo779.html; 2. Tullus,
Paul, “Global Warming: An exclusive look at James Hansen’s Scary New Math”, Time Science & Space, 10 May 2012
http://science.time.com/2012/05/10/global-warming-an-exclusive-look-at-james-hansens-scary-new-math/; 3. Tullus, Paul, ibid.; 4. Romm, J.,
Climate Progress, 28 Oct 2010, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/10/28/206947/global-warming-extreme-wet-dry-summer-weather-in- 120
southeast-droughts-and-deluges/
121. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Description
Impact
Increased frequency of Category 4 and
5 Atlantic hurricanes by 2100: Double.1
Increased frequency of extreme
weather events: 10 fold.2
Probability that 2010 Moscow heat
wave (11,000 deaths) caused by
climate change: 80%.3
Paul Mahony 2013
Increased frequency of abnormally wet
or dry summer weather in SE USA4
Ref: 1. Climate change, MSNBC, “Study: stronger hurricanes loom. Fewer expected but bigger storms to bring more damage”, commenting on
Knutson et al (2010), 21 February 2010: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35506750/ns/us_news-environment/ and Knutuson, et al “Tropical
cyclones and climate change”, Nature Geosciences, 3, 157 - 163 (2010): http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n3/abs/ngeo779.html; 2. Tullus,
Paul, “Global Warming: An exclusive look at James Hansen’s Scary New Math”, Time Science & Space, 10 May 2012
http://science.time.com/2012/05/10/global-warming-an-exclusive-look-at-james-hansens-scary-new-math/; 3. Tullus, Paul, ibid.; 4. Romm, J.,
Climate Progress, 28 Oct 2010, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/10/28/206947/global-warming-extreme-wet-dry-summer-weather-in- 121
southeast-droughts-and-deluges/
122. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Paul Mahony 2013
Melbourne, Australia, 26 Jan – 1 Feb 2009.
3 consecutive days above 43oC. 980 deaths = 62%
above average for that period.
Victorian Government Department of Human Service, 2009, “January 2009 Heatwave in Victoria: an Assessment of Health Impacts”,
http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/F7EEA4050981101ACA257AD80074AE8B/%24FILE/heat_health_impact_rpt_Vic2009.pdf
122
123. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Melbourne, Australia, 26 Jan – 1 Feb 2009.
3 consecutive days above 43oC. 980 deaths = 62%
above average for that period.
Deaths in Melbourne 26 Jan - 1 Feb 2009
1200
1000
800
980
600
400
606
200
Paul Mahony 2013
0
Standard
Climate change impact
Victorian Government Department of Human Service, 2009, “January 2009 Heatwave in Victoria: an Assessment of Health Impacts”,
http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/F7EEA4050981101ACA257AD80074AE8B/%24FILE/heat_health_impact_rpt_Vic2009.pdf
123
124. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Paul Mahony 2013
650% increase in building damage from 25% increase
in peak gust speed from 40 - 50 to 50 - 60 knots.
Ref: Insurance Australia Group, cited in Smith, M.H., “Assessing Climate Change Risk and Opportunities for Investors: Property and
Construction Sector”, p.7
124
125. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
650% increase in building damage from 25% increase
in peak gust speed from 40 - 50 to 50 - 60 knots.
% Increase in building damage versus peak gust
speed
Paul Mahony 2013
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
650
100
40 - 50 knots
50 - 60 knots
Ref: Insurance Australia Group, cited in Smith, M.H., “Assessing Climate Change Risk and Opportunities for Investors: Property and
Construction Sector”, p.7
125
126. Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Another example: “Yarra bursts banks as floods hit
Melbourne”, The Age, 14 Jan 2011
The total precipitable water in the atmosphere in
Melbourne on 13 Jan was 65.0 mm, 20% above the
previous record of 54.5 mm
Paul Mahony 2013
Karoly, Prof. David, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, “The recent extreme weather in eastern
Australia: A sign of climate change or the response to La Niña?”, 23rd April, 2011 at Firbank Grammar, Brighton
126
127. Paul Mahony 2013
Some changes in likelihood or consequences from
climate change
Ref: ANU/IGCC, “Assessing Climate Change Risks and Opportunities for Investors: Property and Construction”
Australian Climate Commission, Apr 2013, “The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather”, p. 56
127
129. More comments on likelihood or consequences from
climate change
IAG Insurance Australia: We could see a doubling of
Paul Mahony 2013
hailstorms with hailstones greater than 10
centimetres in diameter in the greater Sydney
region over the next 50 years.
Submission to 2013 Senate inquiry into preparedness for extreme weather events
Hannam, P. “Costs soar for reinsurers”, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Feb, 2013, http://www.smh.com.au/business/costs-soar-for-reinsurers20130217-2el7q.html
129
130. More comments on likelihood or consequences from
climate change
“The climate dice are now loaded to a degree that the
perceptive person (old enough to remember the
climate of 1951-1980) should be able to recognize the
existence of climate change.”
Paul Mahony 2013
Dr James Hansen, cited in Freedman, A. “NASA scientist Hansen warns “climate dice” already loaded for more
extreme weather”, Washington Post, 17 Nov 2011
130
132. The benefits of meaningful action
Paul Mahony 2013
Mean benefit to cost ratio of proactive climate change
adaptation measures estimated at 60:1 for
Construction and Property sector.
Parry, M. et al “Assessing the costs of adaptation to climate change: A review of UNFCCC and other recent estimates”, Imperial College,
Grantham Institute for Climate Change, UK, cited in ANU/IGCC “Assessing Climate Change Risks and Opportunities for Investors:
Property and Construction Sector”, p. 10
132
133. The benefits of meaningful action
Paul Mahony 2013
“When it comes to climate change we have the option to choose our desired
combination of mitigation, adaptation, and suffering . . . climate change
consequences from carbon emissions are already costing our society
hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Research by the German Institute for
Economic Research and Watkiss et al. 2005 have concluded that choosing
mitigation above adaption would save us tens of trillions of dollars.”
Skeptical Science, “Exxon-Mobil CEO Downplays the Global Warming Threat“, 13th July, 2012, http://www.skepticalscience.com/exxonmobi-ceo-denies-climate-threat.html citing German Institute for Economic Research and Watkiss et al. 2005
133
135. Some Impacts by Industry – Property & Construction
$159 billion worth of Australian buildings
vulnerable to sea level rise, incl. 8,000
commercial, 6,000 industrial and
274,000 residential.
Modelling indicates Category 5 cyclone
striking Cairns = $8 billion in property
damage and business interruption.
Paul Mahony 2013
Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association’s Performance of
Construction index at 35.6 in Mar 2012 due to rain delays from spring 2010 to
2012, adding to construction costs. (A figure below 50 = contraction.)
Jan 2007 bushfires reduced Victoria’s power supply by one-third, cutting
electricity to 200,000 homes and commercial properties.
ANU/IGCC, “Assessing Climate Change Risks and Opportunities for Investors: Property and Construction”
135
139. Some Impacts by Industry – Utilities
Increased risk of shutdowns at
coal, natural gas and nuclear
power plants due to decreased
water availability affecting
cooling at thermoelectric power
plants.
Paul Mahony 2013
Higher risks to energy
infrastructure along coasts due to
sea level rise, increasing
intensity of storms, higher
storm surge and flooding.
Power lines, transformers and electricity distribution systems face increasing
risks of damage from hurricanes, storms and wildfires that are growing more
frequent and intense.
April Saylor, US Dept of Energy, “Climate Change: Effects on Our Energy”, 11 July 2013, http://energy.gov/articles/climate-change-effectsour-energy#all
139
Note: Some map locations are approximate.
147. Some insurance industry participants
are unconvinced of increased
likelihood and frequency of extreme
events, but members of the former
Australian Climate Commission and
others have a different view.
148. What are insurers saying?
QBE Chair, Belinda Hutchinson, 19 April, 2011
Paul Mahony 2013
Climate change has nothing to do with the recent string
of natural disasters that have cost insurance companies
more than $3.6 billion.
“QBE blames La Nina for disasters”, Gareth Hutchens, Sydney Morning Herald, 20/04/11, http://www.smh.com.au/business/qbe-blames148
la-nina-for-disasters-20110419-1dng1.html
149. What are insurers saying?
QBE Chair, Belinda Hutchinson, 19 April, 2011
Climate change has nothing to do with the recent string
of natural disasters that have cost insurance companies
more than $3.6 billion.
Paul Mahony 2013
"The catastrophe events that have taken place this
year, the floods in Queensland, the fires, have nothing
to do with climate change. They are part of Australia's
really long history of floods, fires, droughts.”
“QBE blames La Nina for disasters”, Gareth Hutchens, Sydney Morning Herald, 20/04/11, http://www.smh.com.au/business/qbe-blames149
la-nina-for-disasters-20110419-1dng1.html
150. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, January 2013
“. . . the scale and extent of extreme weather events in
Australia . . . are not increasing and are not
unprecedented.”
Paul Mahony 2013
“Australia has a long record of fire, floods, storms and
cyclones.”
Argues that we should focus on exposure and
vulnerability, rather than hazard (frequency and
intensity)
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
150
151. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, January 2013
Paul Mahony 2013
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Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
151
152. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, January 2013
have
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Paul Mahony 2013
limat
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Argues that we should focus on exposure and
vulnerability, rather than hazard (frequency and
intensity)
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
152
153. What are insurers saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance Council of Australia, January 2013
“. . . the scale and extent sioextreme weathereevents in
of n:
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om
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as
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ture in uthea
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The
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erous weisshould focus on exposure and
ion “T
Argues thatComm s
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vulnerability, rather than hazard (frequency and
ustral
A
intensity)
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
153
154. Paul Mahony 2013
What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, January 2013
:
ange
h
y
ate C
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i
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“Australia has a long record of sts it floods, storms and
fire, is h come
.
Austr
rains”
sugge od will be
g
n
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cyclones.”
nities
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scien ht and flo
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pportu
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Argues tthat we should focus, “on sexposure and
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Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
154
155. Paul Mahony 2013
What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, Jan 2013
nd
: of extreme weather events in
MA a
“. . . the scale and extent
p
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Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
155
156. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, Jan 2013
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance losses due to extreme weather events over last 40yrs
(Source: Risk Frontiers Analysis of ICA Data)
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events, dated 14 Jan 2012 but seems to be 14 Jan 2013
156
157. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, Jan 2013
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance losses due to extreme weather events over last 40yrs
Nomalised (Source: Risk Frontiers Analysis of ICA Data)
Normalised for changes: in the number of dwellings in a location; the average size and value of
dwellings; building age; and Building Code improvements.
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
157
preparedness for extreme weather events
158. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, Jan 2013
Insurance losses due to extreme weather events over last 40yrs
Nomalised (Source: Risk Frontiers Analysis of ICA Data)
nce
Paul Mahony 2013
e
t experi
s
, can pa ck
lid
on is va ate feedba
ati
)
ormalis
(a) clim ending; and (b
his n
t
view of:
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ab
Normalised for changes: in the number of dwellings in a location; the average size and value of
dwellings; building age; and Building Code improvements.
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
158
preparedness for extreme weather events
159. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia, Jan 2013
The increasing cost of insured losses over time is
explained predominantly by growth in the number of
insured buildings exposed and the nature of those
buildings, rather than increased frequency or intensity
of extreme events. [Munich Re has a different view in
relation to storm events. See subsequent slides.]
Paul Mahony 2013
Argues that the insurance mechanism must be
maintained as a price signal to encourage adaptive
behaviour. [Compare with Munich Re.]
Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications: Recent trends in and
159
preparedness for extreme weather events
160. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climate
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extreme
Weather” Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013)
Paul Mahony 2013
• ICA has shown “polite interest” only.
• Insurers look just one or two years ahead.
• Link between climate change and extreme weather needs
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers to act on it.
• No insurer covers gradual change in sea level or other
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
160
161. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climate
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extreme
Weather” Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013)
ahead?
• ICA has shown “polite interest” ears
or two y only.
e
• Insurers k just on or two years ahead.
look just one
oo
Why lbetween climate change and extreme weather needs
• Link
Paul Mahony 2013
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers to act on it.
• No insurer covers gradual change in sea level or other
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
161
162. What are insurers saying?
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climate
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extreme
Weather” Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013)
ahead?
• ICA has shown “polite interest” ears
or two y only.
e
• Insurers k just on or two years ahead.
look just one
oo
Why lbetween climate change and extreme weather needs
• Link
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers !to act on it.
now
ning level or other
• No insurer covers gradual changee sea
e happ in
r
anticipated impacts ts global warming.
venof a
the e
Paul Mahony 2013
sides,
Be
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
162
163. What are insurers saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climate
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extreme
on
s based
Weather” Report (Insurance News, 15usines 2013)
April,
ab
n
tainty” i
r
r “full ce
fo
e n shown “polite interest” only.
hhaseed
• ICA
Wh y t
s?
•probabilitilook just one or two years ahead.
Insurers e
• Link between climate change and extreme weather needs
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers to act on it.
• No insurer covers gradual change in sea level or other
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
163
164. What are insurers saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climate
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extreme
or other
Weather” Report (Insurance News, 15 April,level
sea 2013)
in
change
al
.
s gradu
er
r cov“polite interest”arming
w only.
re
•oICA ihas shown s of global
no nsu
t
S
d impac one or two years ahead.
te
• Insurers look just
anticipa
e,
• Link between climate change and extremetorm damag
weather needs
s
, flood,
to be established withe, bucertainty”. er”!
“full shfire
g
orm sur at Angry Summ
s
• The datat is tinsufficiente “ this point for insurers to act on it.
t abou
r th
Wha insurer membegradual change in sea level or other
• Noetc? Re covers
hail,
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
164
165. What are insurers and others saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climateier
with earl
t
onsisten
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extremeat reflects a
ec
onses ar rspective th
Weather” system resp
Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013) a nonpe
s
rance
conomy
, wherea
su
le
In
tem
ica
arth sys
nal polit
the E
ern tio
intICAahas shownding ofinterest” d.
• ar understan “polite require only.
is
line
tanding or two years ahead.
• Insurers ers just one
look
ear und
lin
• Link between climate change and extreme weather needs
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers to act on it.
• No insurer covers gradual change in sea level or other
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Liam Phelan, Macquarie University, “The relationship between anthropogenic climate change and the insurance system: Imperatives,
options and reflections on theory”, 4 Aug 2010 (PhD Thesis)
165
166. What are insurers and others saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climateier
with earl
t
onsisten
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extremeat reflects a
ec
onses ar rspective th
Weather” system resp
Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013) a nonpe
s
rance
conomy
, wherea
su
le
In
tem
ica
arth sys
nal polit
the E
ern tio
intICAahas shownding ofinterest” d.
• ar understan “polite require only.
is
line
tanding or two years ahead.
• Insurers ers just one
look
e
ear und
insuranc
e
lin
• Link between climate change e basis of th weatherial risk
and extreme nanc needs
th
rminescertainty”.spread fi
n
to be establishedde “full pool and
change u withy to
t
Climate
• The data. ishinsufficient at babipoint .for insurers to act on it.
this lities
e capaci
m, i.e t
ro
syste insurer covers wn p change in sea level or other
• No basis of kno gradual
the
onanticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Liam Phelan, Macquarie University, “The relationship between anthropogenic climate change and the insurance system: Imperatives,
options and reflections on theory”, 4 Aug 2010 (PhD Thesis)
166
167. Paul Mahony 2013
What are insurers and others saying?
Insurance Council of Australia in relation to Climateier
with earl
t
onsisten
Commission’s “The Critical Decade: Extremeat reflects a
ec
onses ar rspective th
Weather” system resp
Report (Insurance News, 15 April, 2013) a nonpe
s
rance
conomy
, wherea
su
le
In
tem
ica
arth sys
nal polit
the E
ern tio
intICAahas shownding ofinterest” d.
• ar understan “polite require only.
is
line
tanding or two years ahead.
• Insurers ers just one
look
e
ear und
insuranc
e
lin
• Link between climate change e basis of th weatherial risk
and extreme nanc needs
th
rminescertainty”.spread fi
n
to be establishedde “full pool and
change u withy to
t
Climate
• The data. ishinsufficient at babipoint .for insurers to act on it.
this lities
e capaci
m, i.e t
ro
syste insurer covers wn p change in sea level or other
• No basis of kno gradual
f
the
menon o
onanticipated impacts of global warming. heno
tp
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a globall
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change i
Climate
gnitude.
a
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elan
Liam Ph News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Insurance
Liam Phelan, Macquarie University, “The relationship between anthropogenic climate change and the insurance system: Imperatives,
options and reflections on theory”, 4 Aug 2010 (PhD Thesis)
167
168. Paul Mahony 2013
What are insurers and others saying?
ly
s the on
i
itigation Climate
Insurance Council of Australia e m
in relation toage its
effectiv
n
ogic lly
m o ma
l“TheaCritical Decade: tExtreme
o
te
Commission’s
g and ec e insurance sys
“Stron
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basi Report term climat News,
viable
nd longa
medium
• ICA has shown “polite interest” only.
• Insurers look just one or two years ahead.
• Link between climate change and extreme weather needs
to be established with “full certainty”.
• The data is insufficient at this point for insurers to act on it.
• No insurer covers gradual change in sea level or other
anticipated impacts of global warming.
Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Liam Phelan, Macquarie University, “The relationship between anthropogenic climate change and the insurance system: Imperatives,
options and reflections on theory”, 4 Aug 2010 (PhD Thesis)
168
169. Paul Mahony 2013
What are insurers and others saying?
ly
s the on
i
itigation Climate
Insurance Council of Australia e m
in relation toage its
effectiv
n
ogic lly
m o ma
l“TheaCritical Decade: tExtreme
o
te
Commission’s
g and ec e insurance sys
“Stron
Weather” s for th (Insurance e risk.”15 April, 2013)
basi Report term climat News,
viable
nd longa
ur
medium
ition of o
• ICA has shown “polite interest” only. defin
e is by
angyears ahead. he that will
h
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climate c ating catastrop
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robetween climate celer and extremeies.
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and
aking,
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The data anthropog at c
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• nNo tinsurer covers gradualmp
sea level or s
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Phela“Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Insurance
Liam News,
Liam Phelan, Macquarie University, “The relationship between anthropogenic climate change and the insurance system: Imperatives,
options and reflections on theory”, 4 Aug 2010 (PhD Thesis)
169
170. What are insurers and others saying?
Paul Mahony 2013
rald
rning He
Insurance Council of Australia in e Sydney Mo Climate
relation to versity.
n in Th
la
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iam Phe Decade: Extreme
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Insurance News, “Climate change: a catalyst for extreme weather”, 15 April 2013
Liam Phelan, “Cuts in emissions are at a premium”, The Age, 25 Jan 2011, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/society-andculture/cuts-in-emissions-are-at-a-premium-20110124-1a2ul.html
170
171. Findings of Senate Enquiry “Recent trends in and
preparedness for extreme weather events”, August 2013
Paul Mahony 2013
Extreme weather events are likely to increase in
frequency and will potentially intensify in the future as a
result of climate change.
Hannam, P., “Extreme weather likely to increase and intensify, report finds”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 Aug 2013,
171
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/extreme-weather-likely-to-increase-and-intensify-report-finds-20130807-2rggq.html
172. Standard Flood Definition - Australia
“The covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been
released from the normal confines of: any lake, or any river, creek or
other natural watercourse, whether or not altered or modified; or any
reservoir, canal, or dam.”
Applies to: home building and home contents; small business; and
strata title insurance contracts.
Transition period of two years from 18th June, 2012.
Paul Mahony 2013
If insurers provide flood coverage, they are required to use the new
definition.
Press Release No. 030 (undated) from Minister for Financial Services & Superannuation,
http://ministers.treasury.gov.au/DisplayDocs.aspx?doc=pressreleases/2012/030.htm&pageID=&min=brs&Year=2012&DocType=0 and
Insurance News “Flood definition becomes law”, 18th June, 2012, http://insurancenews.com.au/local/flood-definition-becomes-law
172
175. Few American insurers ready for climate change
Paul Mahony 2013
Climate risk survey of 184 American insurance companies in the Property
and Casualty; Life and Annuity; and Health sectors conducted by insurance
regulators in California, New York and Washington, and reported by
sustainability advocacy group Ceres.
“Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey 2012”, Ceres, March 2013, http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/naic-report/view
The Age, 8 March 2013, “Few insurers prepared for climate change: Ceres”, http://www.theage.com.au/business/carbon-economy/few-insurersprepared-for-climate-change-ceres-20130308-2fpbw.html (From Bloomberg)
175
Mark A. Hoffman, “Insurance industry has made 'uneven' response to climate risks: Ceres”, Business Insurance, 7 March 2013,
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20130307/NEWS04/130309871#full_story