HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, Aug. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An", the "Company" or the "Group", HKEX: 2318 / 82318; SSE: 601318) has published a report, "Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management: Current Practices and Future Perspectives for the Insurance Industry" (hereafter "the report"), in a joint effort with Southern University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Risk Lighthouse International Pt Ltd, and Ernst & Young (China) Enterprise Consulting Co.

Against the backdrop of long-term climate change, the insurance industry is confronted with substantial challenges arising from the exacerbation of disaster risks. The frequent incidence of catastrophic events implies that insurance companies need to bear greater compensation liabilities and the associated payout pressures. The report outlines the impact and challenges of climate change on the insurance industry and describes how the Chinese and international insurance industries are responding to climate change. It also discusses the innovative measures to improve climate risk resilience and put forwards policy recommendations for climate change response. Furthermore, the report features Ping An's sustainable development practices and experiences in responding to climate change in recent years, to provide a multi-perspective analysis of how the insurance industry can turn climate change challenges into development opportunities.

Richard Sheng, Ping An's Board Secretary and Brand Director, said, "In recent years, extreme weather events have become more frequent around the world, which has endangered the safety of people's lives and their properties and led to massive social and economic losses. We are hoping that this report can help the industry to better respond to the challenges and opportunities brought by climate risks and refine the insurance system. Together, we will write a new chapter of green development, give full play to the functions of insurance as an economic shock absorber and a social stabilizer, and lead China's insurance industry to comprehensively respond to climate change. In the future, Ping An will develop technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance, to provide high-quality financial services for economic and social development and promote the concept of sustainable development."

In recent years, climate change risks have had an increasing impact on human society and economic activities and have become a global challenge. The insurance industry, as a stabilizer of the social economy, plays an important role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Ping An actively promotes the concept of sustainable development through its business activities. As of the end of 2023, Ping An's green insurance premium income amounted to RMB37.3 billion, representing nearly 49% year-on-year (YoY) growth. Its green loan balance amounted to RMB146.3 billion, representing a YoY growth of 25.7%. Its green investment of insurance funds amounted to RMB128.6 billion, up 19% YoY, and 100% of investments of insurance funds were covered by requirements for integrating ESG into investment management.