3RD INSURESILIENCE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FORUM: STRENGTHENING ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN, LATIN AND CENTRAL AMERICA - THE ROLE OF CLIMATE RISK FINANCE AND INSURANCE
The 3rd Partnership Forum took place in December 2019 at the margins of COP25. Around 150 people from G20, V20 and other countries, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia came together to discuss the role of climate risk finance and insurance for strengthening adaptation and resilience in the Caribbean, Latin and Central America.
Antonio Huertas, Chairman and CEO of MAPFRE, set the scene by stating that the insurance protection gap is substantial in the LAC region, where at least 80 to 90% of total losses are not covered. Mr. Huertas underlined further that public policies are needed to meet this challenge by bringing stakeholders from different sectors together. This call for cooperation was strongly supported by Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Action Summit. The urgency to act is pressing. Pablo Suarez brought in a new perspective, which showed that adding a touch of humour to the seriousness we face, helps to overcome crucial communication barriers.
Breakout sessions allowed to dive deeper into four thematic areas: resilient infrastructure, an enabling regulatory environment, CDRFI as a tool for social protection and gender inclusiveness in CDRFI. Especially gender received further importance as the co-chair of the Partnership’s gender working group was present for an interview. To experience concrete projects and initiatives within the Partnership ALLFED, MiCRO, The Nature Conservancy as well as the START Network presented their work in only five minutes. This time constraint led to presentations that were not only very animated but also to the point. The panel discussion on holistic approaches took up the importance of public policies, a position previously made by Antonio Huertas, to create an environment where whatever is designed makes sense and tailored to existing needs. Furthermore, the forum brought together the existing sovereign disaster risk pools. An animated dialogue between the discussants clarified operating principles behind each scheme, and a consensus prevailed to institutionalize this form of dialogue and continue to learn from each other.
The forum closed with powerful statements on keeping approaches collaborative, holistic and of high quality. Thank you to all participants and speakers that shaped the forum through their thorough input and lively interaction.