Insurance and Renewable Energy
RSA and WWF’s Insurance and Renewable Energy emerging risk briefing looks at the challenges, opportunities, risks and benefits of renewable energy and discusses the barriers to widespread adoption.
How to achieve a 100% renewable energy future
If the world is to avoid dangerous climate change the current business as usual approach to energy consumption and production is not sustainable. WWF argues that it is possible to achieve an almost 100% renewable energy system by 2050 – but formidable challenges such as finance and planning need to be overcome.
Insurance and Renewable Energy provides a comprehensive overview of the future of renewable energy and outlines how government, insurers, manufacturers, utility companies, financial institutions, environmental organisations and civil society can work together to achieve this goal.
The report examines the systemic risks surrounding the key renewable energy technologies of wind, solar, bio and hydro energy. For each technology it reviews their current contribution to the energy mix, explores barriers to widespread adoption - including insurance risks - and assesses their potential in a low carbon energy future.
As well as exploring the environmental benefits, the report also addresses the economic benefits, with the renewable energy sector powering the next generation of manufacturing industries and in turn creating many thousands of new jobs.
For insurers, there are infrastructure risks that need to be addressed. Typically the technology involved is relatively new or still at the prototype stage, which can make assessment of risk difficult. In addition, sites are commonly in remote and often inhospitable areas, making access for maintenance and repair challenging. The skill and experience of insurers is crucial to ensure that these risks are effectively managed. As a leading insurer with over 30 years’ experience in the renewable energy industry, RSA has a unique insight into the issues facing organisations operating in this market.
The report is part of a series of briefings that focus on the risks and opportunities arising from environmental change, explore new research and consider the implications for business and society.
Download a copy of Insurance and Renewable Energy
