What is the potential and demonstrated role of non-life insurers in fulfilling climate commitments? A case study of Nordic insurers

Collective actions of stakeholders are required for fulfilling the climate commitments of the Kyoto protocol. The insurance sector's global influence and societal impact is fairly well documented. The sector influences societies based on its interaction with stakeholders, on its products, business and political stance. As such, it is a critical actor in facilitating key climate change actions of mitigation and adaptation, and has already been recognized as a leading sector in terms of climate adaptation. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of non-life insurers in fulfilling the climate commitments of the Kyoto Protocol. This paper is based on a case study on Nordic non-life insurance companies. The study documents that Nordic insurers are responding to climate-related threats and opportunities in a strategic manner by reducing their own impacts, through their core activities, and by influencing others to act. Although Nordic insurers do not classify their actions into mitigation and adaptation, but classify them according to their core activities, they demonstrate through actions their role as potential allies for nations in fulfilling the Kyoto protocol climate commitments. The study also reveals that the commercial reality of the industry is not the same as the expected contribution to climate commitments, for instance as specified in international conventions and treaties and in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and industry reports.     

中国核损害责任制度的缺陷及立法设想

随着核能和平利用的发展。核能的安全性日益引起人们的关注，核损害及其赔偿已经成为无法回避的问题。我国现行核损害责任制度存在重大缺陷．应该尽快建立和完善我国大陆的核损害责任制度。建议：①在民事基本法的层次上，对核损害责任做出全面而具体的规定。②制定核领域的基本法《原子能法》或《核设施法》。③制定《核损害赔偿法》或《核损害责任法》或《核损害赔偿条例》。最后提出我国大陆核损害责任立法的主要内容。     

面向保险业的大面积自然灾害防灾核损信息系统研究

本文依据区域自然灾害的组织体系，在Ｗｉｎｄｏｗｓ环境下，以ＭａｐＩｎｆｏ（ＧＩＳ）软件为主要支持工具，结合ＦｏｘＰｒｏｗ、ＶｉｓｕａｌＣ＋＋，提出了一整套保险防灾核损信息管理系统建设的概念化模型，并以湖南省为例，建立了全中文界面、面向湖南保险业的大面积防灾核损信息系统。最后，结合本系统给出几个应用实例     

试论保险制度在环境管理中的适用

通过对美国推行环境保险制度的理论和实践的分析,论述了保险制度在我国环境管理中应用的可行性及其意义。     

沈阳市环境污染责任保险推进工作存在问题及对策浅析

在全面介绍沈阳市环境污染责任保险推进情况的基础上,论述了沈阳市参加保险企业的确定原则、推进方法及配套政策措施,并结合当前沈阳市该险种推进过程中存在的相关问题,提出了选择适合的环境污染责任保险模式、加强环保部门与保险行业的合作、将环境污染责任险推进融入到环境监理工作中等建议及对策。     

Confronting flood risk: implications for insurance and risk transfer

The UK floods in late 2000 reinforced an emerging awareness which questioned the long-term sustainability of an exclusive reliance on hard-engineered flood defences to protect the UK population against increased flood risk. The debate has subsequently focused on a broader interpretation of the risks associated with flooding. This paper explores the notion that, although social and technical issues are already being integrated to understand and manage flood, practitioners are now realising the importance of accommodating public hazard understanding and perception of risk into their management models, and there remains a need to fit such ideas to the insurance-based system of flood management in the UK.     

Remediation of contaminated lands: a decision methodology for site owners

Deciding how to remediate and redevelop contaminated lands should involve more than just selecting remediation techniques to clean a site to meet regulations for a predetermined site use. Owners and their consultants also need to understand aspects such as alternative site uses and liability, and how issues such as uncertainty can affect them. A methodology has been developed that provides a framework for current site owners when making decisions. It clarifies the above issues and details the type of information that is needed. It offers a step-by-step approach to improve decision making when contemplating remediation of contaminated sites by identifying the site use and remedial action combination that maximizes the current owner's net benefits. It examines various factors in decision making--with special emphasis on the timely issues of liability and uncertainty--and how expert opinion can be used to address diverse or incomplete data. Future research should include developing a complementary methodology that incorporates community and ecological objectives, resulting in a unified decision framework.     

Contextual influences on national level flood risk communication

With high profile flooding events and increasing risk and probable damages of flooding in the future flood risk management (FRM) in England and Wales has undergone substantial changes over the last decade. The contextual influences on flood risk communication in the areas of flood forecasting, warning and response, spatial planning and development control and flood insurance at a national level are investigated in this paper. Research is based on qualitative interviews with 21 representatives of key organisations and activities at a national level of FRM. Drawing on communication theory the research highlights the key contextual features at play: the characteristics of communication flow through organisations, the importance of policy as a communication tool informed and constrained by flood events, organisational agendas, communication approaches and the development of knowledge and technology. The paper describes the influence of clear policy guidance on activities in certain government FRM communication initiatives and the commercial imperative driving the insurance industry activities.     

试论污染赔偿纠纷的行政处理

本文阐述了污染赔偿纠纷行政处理的基本原则，重点讨论赔偿责任的认定和赔偿金额的确定，并对进一步完善行政处理制度提出了自己的见解。     

论保险业在减灾中的作用

灾害对生命财产造成巨大损失。在充满灾害风险的环境中,保险不仅是灾后补偿灾害损失的一种有效措施,而且能在灾前通过保险费率的厘定在土地利用、区域规划、结构加固等方面起到减轻灾害的控制作用。因此保险业是减灾工作中的重要力量。