IPCC Report Confirms What Businesses Already Know: Extreme Weather & Climate Affect Investors, Insurance, Agriculture, Other Industries

BOSTON, November 18, 2011 -

In the wake of a new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on extreme weather and climate change, business leaders discussed the growing impacts of extreme weather on their companies and customers, and actions that are needed to respond if climate patterns continue, on a press call hosted by Ceres today.

“The IPCC report underscores the ripples climate change is already having on the global economy and the importance of innovative business solutions and aggressive government policies to manage this escalating threat,” said Ceres president Mindy Lubber.

Deutsche Asset Management : “The IPCC report is further confirmation for investors not just of the reality of climate change but of the urgent need to hedge against the growing risk of devastating climate events in many parts of the world,” said Kevin Parker, global head of Deutsche Asset Management. “This is becoming easier to do thanks to the increasing availability of more sophisticated analytical tools and strategies to enable investors to take action. The key now is to raise investor awareness of the problem, which this report will certainly help to do.”

Jones Lang LaSalle: “The real estate industry has long been focused on reducing the impact of buildings on the environment through energy use and resulting carbon emissions,” said Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainable services at Jones Lang LaSalle, which manages properties across the U.S. and the world. “Now we’re seeing the need to focus on the environment’s impact on buildings due to the physical ripples of climate change. More than ever before, weather events and other climate-related factors are beginning to impact real estate location and design decisions.”

Swiss Re: “The human and economic costs of severe weather are escalating and the IPCC report is another important reminder of the need to reverse this trend,” said Mark Way, Swiss Re’s Head Sustainability Americas Hub. “Swiss Re believes that effective adaptation measures can significantly improve society’s resilience to climate risk and insurance has an important role to play in this regard.”

The Climate Corporation: “Our customers tell us that the weather on their farms is more extreme and less predictable than it was even five or ten years ago,” said David Friedberg, founder and CEO of The Climate Corporation. “Weather is the primary operational risk that farmers cannot control, and it’s vital to the security of the global food supply that agricultural producers have solutions available to them that mitigate their financial exposure to increasingly extreme weather.” The Climate Corporation offers automated weather insurance to buffer farmers from the financial impact of excess rain, drought, heat and freeze.

About Ceres

Ceres is a coalition of investors and public interest organizations working with companies to address climate change and other sustainability challenges. For more information visit www.incr.com

Contacts:
Peyton Fleming, Ceres, +1-617-733-6660
fleming@ceres.org
Cortney Piper, Cater Communications
C: +1-865-789-2669

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