RenRe sponsors climate change forum in New York

RenaissanceRe sponsored the Climate Change: Response and Resilience Leadership Forum at Columbia University in New York City on November 20.

The event, hosted in conjunction with Columbia University's Earth Institute, brings together government and business leaders with scientific and environmental experts, to look for climate risk mitigation techniques and support efforts to reduce the economic turmoil following disasters.

It was the 14th year the event has been held.

Stephen Weinstein, group general counsel of RenaissanceRe and chairman of the RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation, said there is no doubt that climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and more severe.

“Through collaboration and innovation, we can work together to enhance the physical and financial resilience of households, businesses and governments in even the most high-risk regions," he said.

The Kincade Fire, Tick Fire and Getty Fire recently burned nearly 200,000 acres in California, leaving more than 600,000 California residents without power. This year was also the fourth consecutive year that the Atlantic hurricane season has delivered an above-average number of storms, and the fifth consecutive year that a storm has formed before the official start of the season.

Speakers included Jared Snyder, deputy commissioner for air resources, climate change and energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Ben Diamond, Florida House of Representatives 68th District; Eric Wilson, deputy director of land use and buildings from the New York City Mayor's Office of Resiliency; Nora Ostrovskaya, acting senior director for Metropolitan Transit Authority Office of Strategic Initiatives; and Adam Sobel, professor of applied physics and applied mathematics and of earth and environmental science at Columbia University.