In your own words

“Words make us human, but it’s our actions that make us (in)humane.”

Permacrisis—an extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events—has been chosen as the word of the year by Collins Dictionary. It’s the feeling we have from living through a period of war, inflation, political unrest and, to call out COVID-19 for what it is, plague. To a greater or lesser degree, every single person in the world is experiencing the effects of permacrisis.

Permanently in the background to our universal anxiety, moreover, is a long-suffering planet. Those who have followed the United Nations’ climate talks over the years, will have noticed the changes of word to describe the situation: climate change, climate crisis, climate emergency, climate chaos.

This edition of Bermuda:Re+ILS coincides with COP27, where UN secretary-general António Guterres spoke of the climate cliff.

He said: “Using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible. It is rank deception. This toxic cover-up could push our world over the climate cliff. The sham must end.”

And that’s just the mitigation piece. How about adaptation and resilience? This year’s talks were unofficially dubbed the ‘loss and damage’ COP. Time will tell if it delivers on that.* COP27 is the UN’s latest conference on climate change, but there is another event of equal note before year-end: the UN’s biodiversity conference (COP15) on December 7–19 in Montreal. There is hope that the Canadian city will host a ‘Paris moment’, meaning COP15 will be as impactful for nature as COP21 was for the ambition to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

What has all this got to do with re/insurers? In two words: a lot.

Just as we keep the comforting thought of our insurance policies in the back of our minds, the planet also needs the comfort that your industry can bring.

As a tribute to your heightened sense of humanity—you are individuals who have chosen to dedicate your working lives to doing social good—I have broken with journalistic tradition by taking myself out of the interviews on these pages and presenting most of them as first-person narratives. Each and every one of those voices speaks directly to you. It’s up to you if their messages inspire change because, after all, words make us human, but it’s our actions that make us (in)humane.

If ever there was a moment to be reminded of our humanity, towards ourselves and towards others, during our shared time on this third rock from the Sun, and towards those who will inherit the results of how we treat the environment, then surely it is now.

If I’ve learnt anything about this industry, it’s that you are optimists. That may seem counter-intuitive; after all, you’re in the business of protecting people against the worst things that can happen. The fact is, you are the unsung heroes who always strive to find ways to manage risk. It’s time for Bermuda’s re/insurers to step into the greatest limelight of all and play the fullest role you can in climate risk finance.

And so, given that incredibly positive part waiting for you, I’ll sign off the last Bermuda:Re+ILS of 2022 with the Roman saying: “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world.”

*Yes, the talks ended with a landmark deal to create a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the impacts of climate change, but there was a sharp U-turn on the language around fossil fuels.

Disclaimer: Most of the interviews with attendees of COP27 were conducted before the event began, and so they describe their expectations—rather than conclusions—from the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh.