Press dossiers

Climate Summit in Cancún

Climate protection concerns us all

Climate change is a fact, and it is almost entirely made by man. The increased concentration of greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere has caused global mean annual temperatures to increase by 0.74°C just in the last 100 years.

At the time of writing, 2010 was the warmest year since records began 130 years ago. The ten warmest years during this period all lie within the last 12 years. There were record temperatures in Asia (53.5°C in Pakistan in May), Moscow (37.8°C) and Los Angeles ( 45°C), whilst Germany had its wettest August on record and the Arctic Ocean the lowest ice cover for the month of June.

Also the growing number of weather-related catastrophes can only be explained by climate change. The view that weather extremes are more frequent and intense due to global warming is in keeping with current scientific findings as set out in the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report. Aggregate losses from weather-related natural catastrophes since 1980 now total US$1,600bn, insured losses increasing on average by 11% per year.

Munich Re has been analysing natural hazards and natural hazard losses for more than 35 years. For this purpose, it has set up the most comprehensive natural catastrophe database in the world, which currently comprises more than 28,000 events. Munich Re also actively promotes the issue of climate change and global climate change adaptation through numerous projects, partnerships and practical insurance solutions.