Energy

Cyber risks in heavy industry: perpetual motion

At a recent Mining Insurance & Risk Association conference in Vancouver, a cyber risk specialist informed a travel-weary auditorium of insurance and risk professionals on their 2nd cup of joe, that she had researched the Dark Web (basically the underground hackers hangout) and found that 28 out of 30 attendee companies had some form of exposed data available for sale or freely available for use by others.

Read more

Climate Litigation

UN convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) starts to split

The United Nations convened, Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) has been eviscerated in the last month with the wholesale exodus of the (re)insurance market from its membership.

As part of its charter, NZIA members must commit to transition their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, in order to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Part of this NZIA protocol compels member companies to meet NZIA’s “emissions reduction target” by choosing either an overarching insurance associated emissions reduction target of between 34-60% by 2030, or targeting emissions on a sector-by-sector basis in line with a net zero pathway for that sector.  Much of the language used within its requirements refers to ‘pressuring’ its ‘insureds’ in ‘dirty’ industries to fall into line.

Now only 17 insurers remain, with the founding and major member companies alike, including giants Munich RE, Swiss RE, Lloyds, Zurich, Hannover, QBE, and even Paris headquartered AXA and Scor, all vacating their association with the NZIA.

Read more

Should Australia go nuclear to reduce power prices? Common sense says so

In Australia’s high-wage economy, cheap power was the only competitive advantage our manufacturers, miners and energy-intensive industries enjoyed.

The idea was simple.

To compete with industry in developing nations that have access to dirt cheap labour, Australia needed substantially lower power prices on top of higher productivity.

Unfortunately, we’re squandering our great advantage.

Read more