The photovoltaic industry has sought to make its products the norm for remote power in telecommunications. Such strategies have resulted in productive partnerships. The accumulating momentum of global climate change gives this potential partnership even greater significance. Other regions, including coastal areas, may also become more difficult to insure as greenhouse gas concentrations steadily rise. That means fewer money-making opportunities, which is a bad trend by any industry standard.
Insurers therefore represent potential allies in the struggle to stabilize the climate.
The paper represents the latest in REPP's series of examinations of finance options for renewable energy. Readers will note that it is not centrally a paper about renewable energy. Rather, it proposes an innovative mechanism by which insurers, acting in their own, short-term financial interest, might also be brought to support and sell sustainable energy products. As this paper suggests, the insurance industry would be a powerful ally. But forging that partnership will be hard.