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PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Industry is already investing in research and Laurent Nauche, Managing Director of the Civil
development to deal with the impacts of sea level Engineering France Division at Vinci Construction,
rise on infrastructure. “We must balance short-term added that efforts to adapt to sea level rise face
industrial imperatives and activities with long-term many obstacles, such as public opposition to certain
future-proofing”, warned Frédéric Busin, Regional measures, financial constraints and regulatory
Manager for Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur at EDF hurdles. He called for regulations to be modernised
(French energy provider). Initiatives like ADAPT, he to adequately reflect the increased frequency and
argued, which aim to equip nuclear power plants severity of extreme weather events to enable the
to withstand coastal hazards and other impacts development of ambitious adaptation strategies.
of climate change, can boost resilience in critical
sectors through systemic approaches. If concrete Lina Hansson, Initiatives Coordinator and Co-
local strategies are to emerge, there must be a Secretary for the Monaco Blue Initiative at the Prince
collaborative exchange of knowledge on local Albert II of Monaco Foundation, concluded the event
climate services, data and models developed by the by encouraging those present to continue seeking
private sector and research institutes. systemic solutions to the issue and inviting them to
reconvene in 2025 at the third UN Ocean Conference
For insurance companies, understanding and and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, due to
mitigating risk through improved spatial planning is be held in Monaco.
essential. “Curbing pollution, uncontrolled coastal
urbanisation and destructive practices will help keep
ecosystems healthy, enabling them to boost coastal
resilience”, declared Aurélie Fallon Saint-Lo, Head of
P&C Underwriting and Business Strategy for Climate IN
and Sustainability at the AXA Group. She pointed FIGURES
out that many homes around the world are not
insured against coastal risks. Initiatives like Altitude
by AXA Climate and Ma Commune en Action can ■ The global sea level has risen 25 cm
since 1900,
help address this situation. It is important to note
that marine and coastal ecosystems form a first line ■ Sea level rise is accelerating and
of defence and must be protected. With this in mind, set to reach 60 to 110 cm by 2100,
or double the previous rate,
AXA XL is working to reduce pollution and maintain
the Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine ■ One billion people will be
ecosystems through its partnerships with the Centre vulnerable to coastal risks by 2050,
Source: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean
for Documentation, Research and Experimentation and Cryosphere (2019)
on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE). AXA Climate,
for its part, is developing parametric solutions to ■ Without radical, progressive
adaptation measures, coastal
protect mangroves and coral reefs. flooding could cause direct annual
losses amounting to between 0.3
and 9.3% of world GDP by 2100.
Source: Jochen Hinkel et al, ‘Coastal Flood
Damage and Adaptation Costs Under 21st
Century Sea-level Rise’, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences 111 (2014):
3292–3297.