The United Nations Development Programme’s Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) today launched  ‘Navigating Nature-Related Financial Risks and Opportunities: A Practical Roadmap for Insurance Supervisors’. Released on Finance Day at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP17), the publication helps insurance supervisors translate growing awareness of nature-related risks into practical action suited to their mandates and markets. 

World Bank modelling suggests that a partial collapse of selected ecosystem services could leave annual global GDP US$2.7 trillion lower in 2030 than it would otherwise be. Insurers, too, are exposed to nature loss through their investments and the risks they underwrite. These pressures can, in turn, affect the availability and affordability of insurance for households, businesses and communities. While supervisory awareness is growing, limited data, evolving methodologies and competing demands on resources can make it difficult to determine where to begin. 

“Nature loss is a development challenge,” said Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. “It can undermine livelihoods, deepen vulnerability and put hard-won development gains at risk.” 

Insurance helps people and businesses withstand shocks and recover, he noted, but its ability to do so depends on understanding and managing changing risks. “By strengthening supervisory capacity, this Roadmap supports countries in building financial systems that are better equipped to protect people and sustain development.” 

About the Roadmap 

Designed specifically for insurance supervisors, the Roadmap sets out five flexible phases: building internal supervisory capacity; identifying priority nature-related financial exposures; integrating nature into supervisory expectations; supervisory engagement and review; and developing, applying and refining supervisory tools. Case studies in each phase draw on the work of supervisory authorities in different jurisdictions, illustrating how these steps can be adapted within existing mandates and processes. The Roadmap builds on SIF’s 2021 scoping study on nature-related risks, its supervisory survey and the NATURE-INSURE capacity-building programme, as well as international guidance. 

Authorities can begin at the point most appropriate to their circumstances, using available information and existing supervisory processes. The Roadmap does not establish a new international standard or prescribe a single supervisory model. It encourages proportionate action focused on material risks, with approaches refined as evidence and experience develop.  

Climate-related financial risks form part of the broader category of nature-related financial risks. The Roadmap therefore encourages supervisors to build on their climate-related work while paying additional attention to local ecosystems, dependencies and how these can translate into financial risk. 

“SIF brings together a range of insurance supervisors navigating frontier sustainability challenges. As we’ve deepened our understanding of climate-related risks, we have seen how the degradation of nature, such as wetlands and watersheds, can intensify climate hazards and create new risks,” said Fundi Tshazibana, SIF Chair, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank and Chief Executive Officer of the Prudential Authority. 

The Roadmap also considers opportunities for insurance to support nature protection and resilience. It emphasizes sound risk management and fair treatment of policyholders, recognizing the importance of reliable financial protection for the households and businesses that insurance serves. 

“The practical challenge is how to integrate material nature-related risks into routine supervision,” Tshazibana said. “This Roadmap helps supervisors identify exposures, ask targeted questions and use existing information more effectively. Our priority now is to support implementation and share lessons across jurisdictions. 

Support will include peer exchange and practical implementation assistance, with lessons from participating authorities informing further tools and case studies.

Read the Roadmap.