Welcome to the sustainability and climate change blog. This blog was created by the Society's Sustainability and Climate Change Committee to raise awareness of climate change topics and sustainability more widely. The blog intends to cover a wide range of subjects, both from an Irish perspective and internationally.
If you have any feedback or you are interested in information about contributing to the blog, please email info@actuaries.ie.
Where this information includes links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for general information only. The Society assumes no responsibility for the contents of such third party offerings.
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Ireland’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Tony Jeffery
Date published: March 2024
This blog provides a brief but interesting and informative overview of Ireland’s offshore oil and gas industry. In February 2021, the Irish Government decided that no more licences to explore/develop offshore oil and gas would be granted but existing licences were unaffected. There are two that are of significant current interest, with one of the parties recently announcing its intention to pursue legal action against the Irish Government under the Energy Charter Treaty.
Ethical and professional guidance on climate change for actuaries – overview of the IFoA Guide
Svetlana Gatova
Date published: February 2024
This blog is a brief summary of the version 1.0 Guide for actuaries issued by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in January 2024. The Guide covers relevance of climate change matters to actuaries, professional responsibilities and opportunities, as well as materials for further learning in the subject. The blog highlights the key topics of the Guide.
Corporate Impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Miriam Sweeney
Date published: December 2023
The purpose of this blog is to provide insights from a review of the academic literature on corporate impact on the UN SDGs. This is instructive both for companies already engaged with the SDGs, whether explicitly or implicitly, and for those wishing to engage but not sure where to start. This literature review was carried out as part of a recent research project contributing to an MSc. in Management for Sustainable Development with Dublin City University.
ERM Blog - Climate Change Focus Article
The linked article was published in June on the ERM Blog
Climate Change in the ORSA
Robert Fitzgerald
Date Published: June 2022
This blog is intended to be of most use to members who have not yet included any climate scenarios in their ORSA. However, it should be readily accessible to all risk professionals and may provoke some further thoughts for those further along with their ORSA considerations.
UN Sustainable Development Goals – the global agenda to transform the planet by 2030 - by Barry Murphy
Blog#5
Date published: November 2021
Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs for short, are a framework of 17 global goals which all United Nations members adopted as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future.
The SDGs were introduced in 2015 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution called the “2030 Agenda” and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030. The aim of the SDGs is to enable prosperity for future generations by overcoming global challenges such as poverty, injustice, and damage to the planet. All of the 17 goals are integrated and actions in one dimension can influence the outcomes in others. The 17 goals are a call to action to governments, companies, and people to work together to make this world peaceful, prosperous, and balanced for everyone.
My Green Investment Journey - by Neil O'Reilly
Blog#4
Date published: October 2021
Responsible investing has been around for a long time. However, I have seen it move into the mainstream in my role as an Investment Consultant for Invesco Limited. This blog is about my experience witnessing the transition at an industry level, and the opportunity this created for me to develop my own responsible investment skills.
The Keeling Curve – an Iconic Climate Change Graph
Blog#3
Date Published: September 2021
According to science historian Spencer Weart, the Keeling Curve is the “central icon of the greenhouse effect” (Weart, 2008). It is named after Charles David Keeling who, as a postgraduate geochemist, began a study in 1953 to compare the relative abundance of carbon dioxide (CO2) in water and in air. His study got the attention of many other scientists and, in 1958, Roger Reville, head of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, encouraged Keeling to measure CO2 concentrations over the long term at an appropriately chosen site. Based on its remote location away from continents and vegetation, Reville and Keeling chose the site of the newly built Mauna Loa Observatory in the high mountains of Hawaii.
Some mixed signals from the sustainability and climate change survey
Blog#2
Date Published: July 2021
Sincere thanks to the nearly 300 people who completed the recent survey to inform the work of the Society and its Sustainability and Climate Change Steering Group. This is a great response and I trust it signals strong interest in the area and its significance for actuaries. It’s hugely encouraging to know that 70% of respondents agree that what actuaries do matters for Sustainability and Climate Change. Only 7% disagree. In the following chart green signals agreement, amber is neutral and red means disagreement.
Sustainability and Climate Change – an introduction to the Society’s Steering Group
Blog#1
Date Published: June 2021
Climate change has wide reaching implications for the work done by actuaries, due to its impact on the economy, the risks from natural disasters, the impact on human health and the value of assets held by financial institutions and pension schemes.
And 2021 is the “make or break” year for climate change, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, at the launch of the annual World Meteorological Organization’s report in April. Activity is accelerating on a range of fronts as we head towards COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, due to take place in November in Glasgow.
The Society’s Sustainability and Climate Change Steering Group (SCCSG), established in 2020, has likewise been ramping up its activity across five workstreams. These are: Education and Guidance, Research, Member Engagement, External Engagement and SAI Green Goals.