{"id":69433,"date":"2024-08-28T13:49:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=69433"},"modified":"2024-08-28T13:54:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:54:37","slug":"insurance-is-no-longer-working-why-should-big-oil-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/69433\/insurance-is-no-longer-working-why-should-big-oil-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"Insurance\u00a0is\u00a0no longer working;\u00a0why should Big Oil pay?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Extreme weather events have a hefty price tag. In 2024, they have already cost the world over USD 41 billion<\/a> in damages according to a recent report. Last year, it was USD 301 billion for weather and climate events<\/a>. By 2050<\/a>, climate change could cause an additional 14.5 million deaths and USD 12.5 trillion in losses worldwide.<\/p>\n\n

A key question is: Who pays for all of this? In some cases, governments are stepping in to fill the void, yet this approach puts undue burden on public finances and on taxpayers. At the same time perpetrators of this crisis – the fossil fuel majors responsible for climate chaos because of their polluting business – are left unscathed. This is neither sustainable nor fair.<\/p>\n\n

\"Massive
Greenpeace Romania activists protested in the dried-up lake of Comana Natural Park to raise awareness about the escalating climate crisis.
\u00a9 Mihai Militaru \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The climate crisis is making insurance<\/strong> unsustainable<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Extreme weather events have affected human societies throughout the Holocene epoch, some 10,000 years ago. Human ingenuity helped us adapt economically to ensuing disasters by transferring or distributing risks. <\/p>\n\n

Millenia before modern insurance schemes were developed in 17th century London, such principles were already applied by Chinese, Babylonian and Egyptian traders, and by investors and sea merchants who were only liable to pay back if their ships weren\u2019t swallowed by deadly storms.<\/p>\n\n

Yet with violent weather events turning more numerous<\/a> than at any other time in history, insurers are finding their original purpose becoming unsustainable. <\/p>\n\n

In France<\/a>, insurers turn to raising premiums to unattainable levels, the state is stepping in and drivers are asked to park under cover during hail storms. In Germany, just one out of two<\/a> residential buildings are adequately insured. In regions like Bavaria, where coverage is not mandatory, the insurance gap is even more pronounced. In parts of California, Florida, and Louisiana<\/a>, homes and other property are becoming entirely uninsurable, left to face wildfire and hurricane risks. In Global South countries, hit hardest by climate change, much of the population has no access to insurance whatsoever. <\/p>\n

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A post shared by Greenpeace International \ud83c\udf0d (@greenpeace)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n