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Healthy Solutions for the Low Carbon Economy
Guidelines for Investors, Insurers and Policy Makers

Climate Change and the Financial Sector
Christopher T. Walker J.D., Swiss Re
Lecture Given on March 16, 2006

 

Lecturer Biography
Lecture Summary
Readings
Resources

Lecture Video (Streaming)
Powerpoint (PDF)

Biography

Head of Swiss Re's Sustainability Business Development, the unit charged with developing commercial applications to Swiss Re Sustainability commitments and in particular business opportunities in sustainability, ecosystem markets, emissions reductions and renewables.  The unit examines business opportunities across a wide spectrum of financial service products including insurance, structured finance, third-party asset management and investments as well as the identification of risks to Swiss Re’s (re)insurance and investment activities.  He also serves as a North American Sustainability Officer and government affairs liaison on climate change/ GHG emissions issues.  Initiatives:

  • Oversaw the establishment an emissions trading capacity within Swiss Re
  • Developed risk finance/transfer solutions to facilitate the development of renewable energy projects and the use of market mechanisms to reduce environmental/GHG impacts.
  • Lead the development of  a European Clean Energy fund to invest finance energy efficiency and renewable projects throughout Europe.  
  • Conceived and developed ecosystem market pioneering “Footprint Neutral”  program with UN Development Programme to assist corporate clients with complimentary to regulation carbon and “environmental footprint” commitments, project and corporate offset standards and credibility
  • Led identification of the potential climate change exposure to Directors and Officers liability policies; achieved institutional acceptance for including issue in renewal/new business evaluation
  • Organized and conducted five well attended and highly acclaimed "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions" conferences in 2001 -2004. 
  • Published, lectures and frequently quoted on GHG/climate change risks and market mechanisms

While based at Swiss Re's Zurich headquarters, Mr. Walker created and advanced from concept to initiation the company's Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions unit, specializing in Greenhouse Gas risk mitigation and opportunity innovation. In 2000, he created and led Swiss Re Group's worldwide GHG emissions  market feasibility study determining the market facilitation role for Swiss Re.

An attorney, Mr. Walker, was appointed to the California Climate Change Advisory Commission, and is a member of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), on the board of advisors for The Climate Group, New Energy Finance publication, the Panama Canal Watershed Business Plan project at Yale University and the Climate Change Futures Study with Harvard University / UNDP.

Mr. Walker received his BA in Government from St. John's University, attended the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown and is also a graduate of the St. John's School of Law. Prior to joining Swiss Re in 1996, he practiced law in New York and New Jersey.

Summary

Mr. Walker’s lecture will concentrate on climate change as a financial issue from the point of view of the insurance and reinsurance industry’s potentially rising costs and risks. Carbon is becoming a tradable commodity, allowing companies to hedge their risks, profit from emissions assets and turn this new discipline into a competitive advantage. The briefing will cover potential liabilities for corporations from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, the business opportunities and where the financial industry and in particular the insurance industry can be a facilitator of emissions reduction activities as a catalyst for the development of renewable, emission reduction and energy-efficient technologies.

As the world’s second largest reinsurer, Swiss Re plays a leading role in developing and implementing strategies to deal with the risks and opportunities related to climate change. Swiss Re is committed to the principles of sustainable development and is actively promoting awareness for climate risks, supporting strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and providing new (re)insurance and financing solutions through publications and facilitates ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. Swiss Re was the first company in the financial sector to create a business unit Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions dedicated to providing financial solutions in the global emissions reductions market. Swiss Re also aims to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions footprint through improved energy management in its buildings and through the promotion and use of resource-preserving energy systems such as renewables.

Readings

Brauner C. Opportunities and risks of climate change. Zurich, Switzerland: Swiss Reinsurance Company; 2002.

Resources

Flemming S, ed. Emissions Trading. Paris, France: United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives Climate Change Working Group; 2004.

Climate Risk to Global Economy. Paris, France: United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives Climate Change Working Group.