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primarily to the impact of Hurricane Irma. Yet the government of the small island of Barbuda alone estimates Irma created US$300 million in damage.The reality is that no single facility like this can cover such a disaster while the majority of people in poorer countries simply have no access to personal risk insurance.The insurance sector, like all other sectors when it comes to climate action, is ready for the next step towards a coordinated, effective response between governments, companies and international institutions, including the UN.FINANCE AND INVESTMENT REMAIN KEYS TO SUCCESSFinance and investment continues to underpin entire progress towards the success of the Paris Agreement.As the above examples demonstrate, global ‘green’ finance is rising. But it is still well behind the ambition curve. Perhaps only around one per cent of the US$300 trillion under global asset management is going into broadly what can be called the ‘green space’.Yet all evidence points to the fact that green investment pays back more and pays it back more predictably.In May, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report ‘Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth’, said that bringing together the growth and climate agendas could add one per cent to average economic output in G20 countries by 2021 and lift 2050 output by up to 2.8 per cent.And if the benefits of avoiding climate change impacts such as coastal flooding or storm damage are factored in, the net increase to GDP in 2050 would be nearly 5 per cent, it said.The report singles out infrastructure investment as crucial. Limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C will require close to US$7 trillion a year between now and 2030. This is 10 per cent more in upfront costs than investing in carbon intensive infrastructure, but the energy efficiency savings of US$1.7 trillion dwarf that false saving, not even considering the losses which would then be avoided from the impacts of climate change.Transparent accounting, pricing pollution, full risk analysis – there are many levers that need to be pulled sharply to increase financial flows into sustainable development, including climate action. The UN Climate Change secretariat is also working on this with many think-tanks and partners and I look forward to seeing progress at the COP23 events.Such levers coupled with the full operating system of the Paris Agreement will become a measure of “ THE PARIS AGREEMENT IS NOT A CHAIN THAT CAN BE BROKEN BY ANY WEAK LINK, BUT AN EVER DEEPENING AND WIDENING WEB OF INFLUENCE AND AGREEMENT ”016 FOREWORD