Addressing Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Through Insurance for Overseas Investments: The Example of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation
In 2008, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimated that investments of between US540–570billioninphysicalassetsandotherfinancialflowswillbeneededtoadequatelyreduceglobalgreenhousegas(GHG)emissionstocombatclimatechange;additionally,tensandpossiblyhundredsofbillionsofdollarsmaybenecessarytoenablecountriestoadapttothephenomenon’schallenges.ThroughclimatenegotiationsundertheUNFCCCinCopenhagenandCancun,developedcountrygovernmentscommittedtoprovidedevelopingcountriesroughlyUS30 billion between 2010 and 2012 and to mobilize approximately US$100 billion per year by 2020 for climate change activities. Due to those high costs, and the relatively low sums governments are willing and able to directly provide for mitigation and adaptation, much of that funding for climate change-related efforts will have to come from the private sector. Timely mobilization of that capital will require coordination between the public and private sector to “scale up, shift and optimize” investment and financial flows contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Governments must therefore adopt policies and implement tools furthering that coordination