The Decarbonize Europe Manifesto is an initiative created by The Shift Project, a European think-tank advocating the shift to a post-carbon economy. Designed as a wake-up call 15 months after the signature of the Paris Agreement (COP21), the manifesto calls upon all European States to immediately implement policies aiming to achieve a level of greenhouse gas emissions close to zero by 2050, and upon European actors – individuals, businesses and public authorities – to implement concrete and coherent strategies which can meet the challenge posed by climate change and the limits of natural resources.
SCOR signed the Decarbonize Europe Manifesto on 21 March 2017. Following the press conference held on the same day, SCOR Chairman & CEO Denis Kessler commented:
“By its very nature, the reinsurance industry is very sensitive to the issues raised by climate risks and extreme events.
Through its support for research and active involvement in international initiatives, SCOR has for many years been firmly committed to increasing the knowledge of these risks and to studying how to prevent and manage them. The Group signed the UN Global Compact in 2003 and the Kyoto Declaration in 2009, under the aegis of the Geneva Association. Since 2012, SCOR has also been a founding signatory of the Principles for Sustainable Insurance. In 2015, the Group reaffirmed its commitment to the management of climate risk with its divestment from companies deriving more than 50% of their turnover from coal, and with the signing of the French Business Pledge on Climate.
In my view, climate risk is one of the major challenges we face, and meeting it will require the involvement of everyone. I have therefore signed this manifesto with great conviction.”
For the full manifesto, go to the Decarbonize Europe webpage at http://decarbonizeurope.org/en/
