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Prometheus Debunks Munich Re’s Overselling of Disasters and Climate Change
The BBC were fooled, as expected, by a Press Release from global reinsurers Munich Re entitled: ‘Catastrophe figures for 2008 confirm that climate agreement is urgently needed’
Science policy expert Roger Pielke Jr debuked the claim by Munich Re on the Prometheus blog:
Overselling Disasters and Climate Change by Munich Re
Munich Re, one of the largest global reinsurance companies, has often skirted near the line of scientific credibility when discussing disaster losses and climate change. This week Munich Re stepped way over that line when it uses the issue of human-caused climate change to suggest higher reinsurance rates and support for a global climate treaty.
In a press release Munich Re observes of 2008:
Catastrophe figures for 2008 confirm that climate agreement is urgently needed
What else might be needed? How about higher reinsurance rates, which Munich Re hints at not so subtly:
Torsten Jeworrek, member of Munich Re’s Board of Management: “2008 has again shown how important it is for us to analyse risks like climate change in all their facets and to manage the business accordingly,”
What evidence is there that indicates that confirm the need for a climate agreement?
First, Munich Re points to the large loss of life from disasters in 2008:
Throughout the world, more than 220,000 people died as a result of natural catastrophes this year.
Tragic, to be sure, but caused by climate change? A third of these deaths resulted from the Sichuan Earthquake. A large number of deaths, perhaps 135,000, resulted from Typhoon Nargis in Myanmar. What does 2008 look like in long-term context?
Here is data the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) at the Université Catholique de Louvain presents data for disaster deaths from 1900- June, 2008.
Read the rest here.
UPDATE:
Munich Re response to Prometheus here.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Paul, it looks like you missed Munich Re’s response to Roger Pielke Jr. http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/munich-re-responds-4867
Roger essentially threw in the towel.
Was this not worth your attention?
February 4th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I was first to comment on the Munich Re reply over at Prometheus. I don’t see any towel. The bottom line is that there is no link between disasters and CO2.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:26 am
Thanks for the trackback.
Threw in the towel? Hardly. Munich Re is wrong. There remains no conclusive (or even suggestive) attribution between CO2 and increasing costs of disasters.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
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