Climate change will have widespread societal consequences, a leading reinsurance executive has said.

Kevin O’Donnell, president and chief executive officer of Bermudian-based global re/insurer Renaissance Re, was speaking after the company held its 16th annual risk mitigation leadership forum, “Leading the Transition to a Green Economy: Role of Credit & Risk Transfer”.

The forum was hosted by RenaissanceRe’s credit team, led by Fiona Walden, SVP, global head of credit, in partnership with ClimateWise, an insurance industry collaboration convened by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Mr O’Donnell said: “As a global reinsurer, we have considerable expertise managing the impact of climate change across the property and casualty insurance industry.

“We believe climate change will have widespread societal consequences and RenaissanceRe is focused on facilitating the transition to a more sustainable future.

“This was our first credit-focused risk mitigation leadership forum, and we were proud to bring together financial sector leaders to discuss the innovative ways that credit and risk transfer can support a greener global economy.”

The forum explored topics including:

•Advancing renewable energy adoption through well-structured credit financing

•Credit risk transfer’s role in helping organisations meet net zero commitments

•Quantifying climate risks and finding solutions to reduce carbon intensity in the housing market

•The role of carbon markets in transitioning to a net zero economy

•The relative value of the carrot or stick approach in regulating the transition to a green economy

Eliot Whittington is acting director, Centre for Sustainable Finance, and head of ClimateWise, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

He said: “As the world faces a growing set of increasingly interconnected and apparent systemic risks, we are proud to cohost the RenaissanceRe risk mitigation leadership forum, alongside one of the industry's leaders on collaborative solutions that better mitigate and manage climate risk.

“ClimateWise’s goal is to align the industry in collectively addressing climate change and this forum is an important opportunity to bring organisations together to apply our strengths to advance the transition to a green economy and drive societal resilience.”

Speakers included leaders from academia, financial services, government, and environmental sustainability.

Steven E Seitz, director of the Federal Insurance Office for the US Department of the Treasury, opened the forum and Alex Brazier, managing director at BlackRock and deputy head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, delivered the keynote.