The chief executive of the insurance market Lloyd's of London said more involvement from the private sector at Cop28 is to be welcomed.
Speaking as Lloyd's of London announced strong first-half results, John Neal said the climate summit, which starts at the end of November in Dubai, will be an opportunity for businesses to discuss the next steps in financing the transition to a lower-carbon world.
“We're very active in the conversations we're having with the banks,” he said in response to a question from The National.
“How can banks and insurers work together to enable that financing to be released? Of course, the corollary of the benefit of that is that transition related activity creates both asset and liability interests that we can insure.
“So, our sense is that Cop28 is leaning back into private sector-valuable discussions and certainly our early indications is the attendance looks valuable for us.”
His comments came as Lloyd's of London released its first-half results, which showed a profit before tax of £3.9 billion, compared to a loss of £1.8 billion in the first half of 2022.
Profit from underwriting more than doubled to £2.5 billion, compared to the same period last year, and investment returns swung back to a £1.8 billion profit, having suffered a £3.1 billion loss in the first half of 2022.
“Combined with the market’s progress in driving sustainable performance, digitalisation and showing leadership from climate transition to culture change – these results set us up to deliver on our positive financial outlook for 2023,” Mr Neal said.
Estimated losses in the Lloyd's market from the conflict in Ukraine were £1.6 billion.
Natural disasters
Last month, reinsurer Swiss Re said insured losses resulting from natural disasters rose to $50 billion in the first half of this year, the second highest reading since 2011.
Severe thunderstorms accounted for 70 per cent of the total, with $34 billion of losses being recorded in the US alone, the highest ever in a six-month period.
With the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season well under way, the forecaster AccuWeather upgraded its prediction for the number of Category 3 and above storms from 1-3 to 3-5.
But at the moment, Mr Neal is not too concerned.
“We would anticipate natural catastrophe losses throughout the year,” he said in response to a question from The National.
“We create allowances for that throughout the plan. They are very much second-half oriented, largely due to our US predominance and our exposure to US hurricanes. So, it's something we would expect.
“The time it gets complicated is when you see two or three hurricanes back to back in one year. But one hurricane in the US is something we would expect to happen.”
AccuWeather warned that Hurricane Lee could strengthen to a Category 5 storm by the weekend as it barrels up the eastern Caribbean and possibly towards the US.
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
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Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
