Morocco: Insurers unveil roadmap towards green economy
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jan 2017
Moroccan insurers, as represented by the Moroccan Federation of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (FMSAR), have pledged to make green investments to counter climate change, with the aim of realising a sustainable vision of a green economy in coordination with all players in the financial services sector.
In this connection, FMSAR unveiled a roadmap for the insurance industry in November which involves:
- Financing of energy projects and investing in ecology-related securities, opting for eco-conscious investments. Ultimately, the investment in these vehicles could reach MAD6 billion (US$595.9 million) over five years.
- Developing “green” savings products, including pensions. The excellent dynamics between banking and insurance should help result in more than MAD500 million a year in savings products whose premiums would be invested in green assets.
- Extending coverage of climate risks, notably those related to agriculture so as to go beyond the million hectares already covered.
- Developing insurance solutions for environmental risks.
- Reducing the environmental impact of the insurance sector’s activities.
- Promoting a culture of prevention of environmental risks, in particular, through awareness campaigns.
The roadmap was unveiled on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was hosted by Morocco from 7-18 November.
“Our industry is certainly the most relevant and the most affected by global warming and catastrophic risks and it has to provide solutions able to mitigate the impact of these phenomena,” said Mr Mohamed Hassan Bensalah, FMSAR President.
The roadmap complements measures initiated since 2011 when Morocco launched comprehensive climate insurance which aims to provide protection for cereal crops against drought, excess moisture, hail, ice, sand storms and other climate risks. The farm area under this coverage has grown to about one million hectares by the 2015-2016 crop year.
MAD1 = US$0.10