"The recovery must be green and sustainable. We have to stick to the European Union's commitment. There will be no recovery if this is not sustainable. There is no sustainable recovery without cooperation at all levels. Pandemic, cyber risk and terrorism are global phenomena and there are no local solutions to global risks". This was stated by the Group CEO of Generali, Philippe Donnet, who took part in the “State of Europe” Festival held in Brussels.
It is "very important to find forms of public-private collaboration" to support the investments necessary for the recovery, continued Donnet, then underlining the need for an adequate and homogeneous regulatory framework for the green bonds, which “are a good resource to invest in: we need green bonds and as insurance companies we want to invest in them, but the regulatory framework, Solvency II, must be consistent with this. Like Generali, we asked the European regulator to make green bonds a specific asset class to reduce their cost of capital. Public-private partnerships can allow us to invest ever faster and to regulate in line with this objective”.
To invest quickly "we need a regulation in line with our objectives", underlined the manager, who expects "a strong recovery", but also sees risks linked to "a rise in inflation, rising commodity prices and a hardships of the workforce in some sectors”.
Del Leone's CEO added that Generali, like other investors, wishes invest in the green economy and that "the world needs this kind of investment", in a framework of "convergence of interests" between the needs of the real economy and the intentions of investors. “It is important for insurance companies to diversify their investments and not only invest in government bonds, with interest rates that are too low, but also in the real economy… So the regulator must help speed up investments in the real economy ”.
According to Donnet, “we have to stop climate change as soon as possible. The increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters resulting from climate change is worrying. We need to stop it quickly and if we can't do it there will be an increase in prices" by reinsurers, which will end up impacting those of insurers and "in the end we may not even be able to insure anything anymore...". Finally, "perhaps we should do even more" with respect to the objectives of combating climate change, concluded Donnet.
