AIG Adopts Policy on Climate Change

American International Group has joined the ranks of major insurers committed to doing something about the increased risks the industry faces due to climate change.

In a newly issued statement, the company said it “is actively seeking to incorporate environmental and climate change considerations across its businesses, focusing on the development of products and services to help AIG and its clients respond to the worldwide drive to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

Companies such as Munich Re and Swiss Re have long endorsed programs and research aimed at finding solutions to what increasingly appears to be a major threat facing the worldwide insurance community. AIG would appear to be the first major U.S.-based insurer to do so.

“Climate change is increasingly recognized as an ongoing, significant global environmental problem with potential risks to the global economy and ecology, and to human health and wellbeing,” the statement continued. “AIG recognizes the scientific consensus that climate change is a reality and is likely in large part the result of human activities that have led to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. At the same time, market-based environmental policies and potential new investments provide business opportunities for AIG to address the problem. We will pursue these new opportunities where we have the expertise and capacity to do so in ways that mutually benefit AIG, its shareholders, employees, customers, and the global community.”

The full text is available on AIG’s Website – www.aig.corporate.com, but it’s not prominently displayed. Locate “Corporate Responsibility, ” under that “environmental initiatives,” go to the bottom to “Environment and Climate Change.”