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Weather Insurance Allianz, Europe’s biggest insurance group, plans to exploit interest in environmental issues among the financial community with a division to produce climate-related products for its bank and insurance businesses. The German group has set up Allianz Climate Solutions to meet rising demand for weather insurance and climate-related financial instruments, highlighting the industry’s hunt for opportunities as public interest in weather-related issues grows. |
By Ivar Simensen in Frankfurt November 4 2007found at http://www.ft.com
“Greater awareness of climate issues such as global warming is creating new opportunities,” said Armin Sandhoevel, the division’s chief executive.
“The group has been set up to meet this rising demand amid the realisation that the world needs more and better renewable energy, clean technologies and power markets.”
The interest in and potential to profit from concern about climate change has led to new investment products for retail markets, environment-focused stock indices, and investment in trading opportunities such as those with emissions credits.
Allianz’s climate division is not the group’s first move in the area.
Dresdner Bank, Allianz’s banking subsidiary, entered a joint venture with Gazprombank of Russia to invest in the rapidly developing carbon emissions trading market at the beginning of the year.
The venture invests in projects that generate CO2 certificates through the Kyoto protocol and repackage them to resell to investors.
The climate arm will search for similar opport-unities.
The move reflects the strategy of Michael Diekmann, Allianz chief executive, to create a one-stop-shop to get more out of the company’s various divisions.
Mr Sandhoevel said his team was a group of 10 people, most of them recruited internally from across the group, to search for investment opportunities and products ranging from car insurance to renewable energy fund investment and tradable assets.
He said the team could more than double in size in the next two years, depending on its success.
