Subject:  INSURANCE EXECUTIVES DISCUSS IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

UNEP News Release.  For information only.  Not an official 
record.

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    INSURANCE EXECUTIVES DISCUSS IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

        International Conference on Environmental Issues
      in the Financial Services Sector to be held in Tokyo

TOKYO, 2 December 1997 - In association with the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), over 200 top level
insurance executives and representatives of other financial
institutions from more than 10 countries will meet in Tokyo 
on 2 December, to share experiences and strategies for the
implementation of environmental commitments in the insurance
sector.  Topping the meeting's agenda is the issue of climate
change.

       "There is no coincidence that this meeting is being 
held at the same time as international negotiators gather in 
Kyoto to discuss targets and timetables to respond to climate 
change," said Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, UNEP's Executive 
Director. "The insurance industry has become a powerful and 
credible lobby for action on the issue.  They are an 
important counterweight to those who are working to slow 
progress," she said.

       The threat of major weather-related disasters, like 
those due to El Nino, are the kinds of events that insurers 
fear will become more frequent if society continues to emit 
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at the current rate.  

       For the insurance industry, environmental risk is
business risk.  The sector accounts for annual revenues of 
over $US2 trillion.  Today, natural disasters represent 85 
per cent of insured catastrophe losses globally, or $US12.4 
billion in 1995, and these losses are on the rise.

       Aside from discussions related to climate change, the
meeting will explore specific issues including environmental
management systems and reporting, asset management, and
environmental liability.

       Regarding the future of the green agenda, Ms.
Dowdeswell remarked, "Many on the environmental side
continue to say that business remains an obstacle to 
progress.  Instead of confrontation, we need to build 
partnerships, like the one UNEP has with the Insurance 
Sector, and find solutions together."

       The Conference comes as many of the world's leading
insurance companies are recognizing that their efforts to 
protect human life and property and prevent catastrophic 
events can play a vital role in safeguarding the environment 
for future generations.

       "A better understanding of environmental risks is of 
key importance to insurance companies if we are to respond to
them in a prudent manner," concludes the meeting's Chairman,
Mr. Yojiro Yamashita, Senior Managing Director of Sumitomo
Marine and Fire Insurance.

       UNEP's alliance with the Insurance Industry was
launched two years ago when the first insurance companies
signed on to the "UNEP Statement of Environmental
Commitment by the Insurance Industry".  Today, more than 70
insurance companies from 25 countries have signed the
statement and have committed themselves to incorporating
environmental considerations into their operations.  The 
Tokyo Conference is a milestone for promoting the initiative 
in Japan and in other parts of Asia.

       This is the second such meeting to be sponsored by
UNEP and the Insurance Industry Initiative for the
Environment.  The Initiative is guided by the UNEP Insurance
Steering Committee which includes: General Accident plc.
(UK), Gerling-Konzern Globale (Germany), N.P.I. (UK),
Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. (Japan), Swiss
Reinsurance Company  (Switzerland), and Storebrand
(Norway).


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Note to journalists:  

A press conference will be held at the JA Building (1-8-3 
Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku) in Tokyo on Monday, 2 December, at 
12:15 p.m.  

For more information contact: 

Mr. Michael Williams, UNEP Media Officer, in Japan, tel: 
+81-20-229-0209, fax: +81-75-705-2002

Mr. Bernd Schanzenbacher, UNEP Programme Officer, tel:
+41-22-979-9302, fax: +41-22-7969240, email: schanze@unep.ch,
or Mr. Satoshi Toyama, Sumitomo Marine and Fire, tel: +81-3-
3297-6796, fax: +81-3-3297-6904,  


In Nairobi: 

Mr. Robert Bisset, UNEP Media and Communications Officer
Tel: +254-2-623084, Fax: +254-2-623692, Email:
Robert.Bisset@unep.org




UNEP News Release 1997/69

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