The longer leaders fail to properly combat climate change, the worse losses from natural catastrophes will be, a Munich Re statement from the United Nations-backed climate COP26 conference in Glasgow says.

Munich Re Chair Joachim Wenning welcomed talks about the role business can play in climate protection and says investment in renewable energies must be quadrupled and “quantum leaps” are urgently needed in low-carbon economy technology.

“The world should have listened to the experts sooner. Now time is running short,” Mr Wenning said. “In many cases we’re still lacking the reliable framework needed to efficiently protect the climate. Together with market incentives, the proper conditions can drive the development of new technologies to transform the global economy into a climate-neutral economy.”

Phasing out fossil fuel use is essential and the $US300 billion ($403 billion) a year currently invested in renewable energy will need to be quadrupled by 2030, he said, as will substantial investments in grids and storage. Munich Re recommends international collaboration on renewable-energy facilities, for example Europe harnessing wind and water energy in the north, and solar in the south.

Coordinated financing for technologies that remove CO2 from the air is important as the process is currently complex and expensive, the statement says.

Munich Re recommends insurance solutions be jointly developed by insurers and governments to combat the fact that more than 90% of natural catastrophe-related losses in developing countries remain uninsured. Parametric cover may be a good candidate, it says.

“The longer we as a global community fail to properly combat climate change, the worse the risks posed by natural catastrophes and consequent losses will be,” Munich Re Chief Climate and Geo Scientist Ernst Rauch said.