Credit: Generali
ECMWF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global insurance and asset management group Generali to strengthen the use of quality-assured climate information for greater climate risk resilience.
Generali is one of ECMWF’s well-established data users, and this Europe-wide collaboration brings together the applied climate knowledge of the Generali Group Climate Hub with the advanced data and expertise of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), both implemented by ECMWF on behalf of the European Commission.
“The collaboration creates a bridge between publicly funded climate science and the insurance sector”, said Florian Pappenberger, Director-General of ECMWF.
“By exchanging with Generali and its Climate Hub, we will better understand how Copernicus climate and atmospheric information is used in practice, helping steer service development within ECMWF’s mandate, in close collaboration with our Member and Co-operating States. For us, open, quality-assured datasets underpin better risk awareness and more consistent decision-making across Europe.”
As extreme weather events intensify, the demand for quality-assured climate data is more crucial than ever to help make societies safer, better prepared and more resilient. The surge in the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes over the past decades has driven insured and uninsured losses to unprecedented levels exceeding $500 billion globally in recent years.
The insurance industry plays a role in mitigating the financial impact of climate-related events, enabling households and businesses to recover and maintain continuity. Beyond financial protection, insurers are taking on increasing responsibilities in climate risk prevention and adaptation.
The ECMWF-Generali co-operation aims to improve understanding of climate-related risk, as well as air quality, and to foster the optimal use and more consistent interpretation of climate and health data within ECMWF’s public mandate, which ensures Copernicus information and datasets are openly available to all.
On Generali’s side, the collaboration will be led by the Generali Group Climate Hub, leveraging its applied expertise in insurance solutions that strengthen climate resilience and aim to support closing existing protection gaps.
The MoU builds upon previous joint initiatives between ECMWF and Generali, including an invitation extended to C3S and CAMS, to join the Ballon Generali de Paris, led by Aérophile, as scientific collaborators last spring.
Supporting practical use of climate data in the insurance sector
The partnership will support structured exchange on how climate and atmospheric information is used in practice, and how these datasets can meet the needs of users in the insurance sector.
It leverages advanced climate datasets and state-of-the-art climate and atmospheric modelling systems through CAMS and C3S with decades of expertise in numerical weather prediction and operational forecasting.
The aim is to encourage good practice in the use, interpretation and communication of climate and atmospheric information, supporting consistent uptake while respecting the roles of national services.
The two parties will focus on:
- Using quality assured Copernicus climate and atmospheric information to support improved understanding of climate related risk and its drivers.
- Exchanging perspectives on use cases and decision contexts in the insurance sector, to inform ECMWF’s ongoing service evolution and technical development within its public mandate.
- Supporting evidence based communication using transparent methods and open, quality assured datasets, helping minimise misinterpretation.
Marco Sesana, Group General Manager at Generali, said: “As climate change increasingly disrupts global value chains with often severe impacts on communities, advancing our understanding of extreme weather events is essential to developing innovative solutions that can strengthen resilience and help close protection gaps. Generali through our Group Climate Hub is proud to engage with ECMWF to enhance critical climate insights and translate these into practical applications for the insurance industry and beyond. Our goal is to leverage shared expertise and specialised capabilities to develop forward-looking solutions that safeguard people, businesses and society against the growing risks of climate change.”
This collaboration sits alongside ECMWF’s role in implementing the two Copernicus services on behalf of the European Commission, providing quality-assured information for broad public and private use under open access principles.