UN report says we have 86 years to save the world
A new report from the United Nations released at the weekend says we have to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2100 to limit the risks of irreversible damage to the planet. UN secretary general Ban ki-Moon said that “there is no ambiguity” in what science is telling us; the report is a consensus of 800 scientists from around the world. The report says that with fast action we can avoid the worst risks at a manageable cost. Without action we could be facing disaster on an unprecedented scale with flooding, food shortages and loss of life.
Climate scientist tells risk managers – don’t treat climate change as “Doomsday”
Danish climate scientist Jesper Theilgaard has told risk managers that they should not treat climate change as a “Doomsday” scenario. Instead, he said, they should look for the business opportunities in helping to mitigate the possible impacts and make local adaptations to the changing environment. Theilgaard says that investment is needed in areas such as fresh water supply, medicine and flood defenses. He says we need to be ahead of the changes rather than reacting to them when it’s more difficult and more expensive. He also highlighted the risk of flooding causing greater damage due to ageing property and infrastructure even in developed nations; even a 50 year old structure wasn’t built with climate change in mind.
Identity theft risk for business travellers
Business travellers are being warned of the risk of identity theft. While it may seem perfectly normal to hand over identification documents such as a drivers licence or passport when checking in to an overseas hotel or renting a car it is worth checking on how information is stored especially when physical copies of the documents are taken or items are scanned and stored electronically. Experts say that it is advisable to ask questions about your personal data and while identity theft would generally be a personal issue rather than a business one, businesses should be advising their staff to take extra care with their documents.
Smaller insurers take on the big boys online
As more of the large insurance companies respond to customer demand for more online interaction where does that leave the smaller agents and brokers? Investment in online systems can be very costly but joining together with others could be one solution. In Massachusetts the local trade group is launching its own comparison website later this year. The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents represents most of the state’s agents and will give consumers the chance to find agents near them and compare policies. The software was developed by a Boston company and their co-owner Charlie Walsh says that the insurance industry seems to have been slow to enter the online world but tells the Boston Globe that it is understandable as they wanted to be sure that there was a definite demand for online before investing heavily.
