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Climate change pledges ‘not enough’

Emissions pledges from the US, EU and China in the run-up to December’s World Climate Conference in Paris have fallen short, according to Munich Re.

Ernst Rauch, Head of the reinsurer’s Corporate Climate Centre, says any action is better than none, but international hopes of capping global warming at two degrees are fading fast.

He says mitigation of emissions remains important for averting even worse consequences, and adapting to natural hazards can safeguard lives and give high economic returns.

“The more the two-degree limit is exceeded, the graver the long-term consequences will be.”

Mr Rauch says if no binding agreement to contain warming to two degrees is made in Paris, there are other avenues.

One would be multilateral agreement between leading emitters such as the US, China, India and the EU, committing them to responsibilities outside the UN process.

Another might be a large-scale campaign to promote research and development of alternative power generation and storage, to speed up transition to low-carbon dioxide fuels.

The Paris conference “should not be prematurely written off as being futile”, Mr Rauch says.

However, it is “predictably insufficient”, and more work will inevitably be needed.

Meanwhile, more than 40 global CEOs have signed an open letter to world leaders urging them to reach an “ambitious climate deal” in Paris.

Signatories include Munich Re’s Nikolaus von Bomhard, Swiss Re’s Michel Liès and Allianz’s Michael Diekmann.

“Delaying action is not an option – it will be costly and will damage growth prospects in the years to come,” says the letter.