Lloyd's in climate change partnership

Lloyd’s is partnering with the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS) to raise awareness of climate change in the country.

The new partnership will seek to help businesses, government bodies and individuals throughout the region, understand climate change and how they can respond and adapt to future changes.

Lloyd’s chairman, Lord Levene, said: “For an insurer, there can be few greater concerns right now than climate change, and at Lloyd’s we feel the impact of extreme weather more than most people. Brazil receives very little natural catastrophes, so it is essential that we work with Brazilian businesses and government to prepare for what may occur in the future.

“While natural catastrophes are low, Brazil is already starting to experience event that are triggered by climate change. For example, the Southeast of the country has seen a 58% rise in the frequency of extreme rainfall in 100 years, while the Amazon region was in drought in 2005.”

Israel Klabin, chairman of the Board of Trustees of FBDS, said: “Climate Change is the most important problem that humankind has to face this century and is the essence of the FBDS’ work. Our partnership with Lloyd’s is very important and will surely contribute to increasing the knowledge of the main stakeholders in Brazil on this subject.”

The project continues the research that Lloyd’s has been conducting on climate change through its 360 Risk Project. The project will focus on four key aspects:

• Global climate change and extreme events in Brazil – this paper will address how global climate change affects the occurrence of extreme weather events in Brazil, such as severe flooding, and the impacts on Brazilian society.
• Adaption in the agricultural sector in Brazil – traditional farming knowledge has permitted farmers to understand which crops best suit their lands. With global climate change (including surface warming and rain instability), this knowledge will need to be revised since crops that were adapted to certain regions will have to be farmed elsewhere in order to maintain the same productivity.
• Risk and adaption in the energy sector in Brazil – Brazilian electricity generation is highly dependent on hydro power plants. Changes in the intensity and distribution of rain during the year may affect the balance between supply and demand. The diversification of electricity generation (without increasing utilisation of fossil fuels) is the main challenge for Brazil in this sector.
• Sea level rise and adaption in Brazilian major coastal cities – a great part of Brazilian population and infrastructure are close to the Atlantic Ocean. Rio de Janeiro and Recife are two major cities that can be greatly affected by sea level rise. Thus, in order to avoid huge losses, companies, government and the civil society will need to adapt their infrastructure.

The final report will be released at a summit later in the year, and distributed widely by Lloyd’s and the FBDS.