Sustainability Policy

Although we are increasingly enduring the disastrous effects of rapid technological and societal developments, such as recent severe weather events around the globe, the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss are poorly understood by both the general public and policymakers around the world. Insufficient understanding of these risks and short-term thinking may result in putting current and future generations at further risk, with potential dire consequences.

With rapid changes from technological advancement, demographic shifts, and a resource-demanding standard of living in the developed world, we face a number of unprecedented global risks with the potential of severely affecting billions of people. Actuaries can draw upon their risk-management expertise to identify the potential range of environmental risks, both short and long-term, and the subsequent means for mitigating or adapting to them.

Climate related risk may be the defining risk of our times. Actuaries have an important role in assisting others to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. These include not only the long-term catastrophic risk to the world, but also the costs and risks to companies of transitioning to a low carbon environment which, even now, are impacting company results and are becoming subject to disclosure requirements.

Louise Pryor, Past President of the IFoA