The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the European intergovernmental organisation specialising in weather and climate forecasting, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with international insurer and asset manager Generali to expand the use of quality-assured climate information in support of climate risk resilience across Europe.
The agreement strengthens an existing relationship between ECMWF and Generali, which has been a long-standing user of ECMWF data and services.
Through the collaboration, Generali’s Group Climate Hub will work alongside the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), both delivered by ECMWF on behalf of the European Commission.
ECMWF and Generali said the partnership reflects growing demand for reliable climate and atmospheric data as extreme weather events continue to increase in both frequency and intensity.
According to the organisations, the rising impact of natural catastrophes has contributed to global insured and uninsured losses exceeding $500 billion in recent years.
The two organisations said the insurance sector has an increasingly significant role in supporting recovery from climate-related events, while also contributing to prevention, preparedness and adaptation strategies designed to reduce long-term risk.
Under the collaboration, ECMWF and Generali will work to strengthen understanding of climate-related risks and air quality issues, while encouraging wider and more consistent use of climate and health information. ECMWF noted that the initiative aligns with its public service mandate, under which Copernicus climate and atmospheric datasets are made openly available.
Generali said its contribution to the partnership will be led through the Group Climate Hub, which focuses on applying climate expertise to insurance solutions aimed at improving resilience and narrowing protection gaps.
The agreement also builds on earlier co-operation between ECMWF and Generali, including the involvement of C3S and CAMS as scientific partners in the Ballon Generali de Paris initiative led by Aérophile last year.
ECMWF and Generali said knowledge-sharing and continued dialogue on the application of Copernicus climate and atmospheric information will form a key part of the partnership.
“The collaboration creates a bridge between publicly funded climate science and the insurance sector,” commented Florian Pappenberger, Director-General of ECMWF.
“By exchanging with Generali and its Climate Hub, we will better understand how Copernicus climate and atmospheric information is used in practice, helping steer service development within ECMWF’s mandate, in close collaboration with our Member and Co-operating States. For us, open, quality-assured datasets underpin better risk awareness and more consistent decision-making across Europe.”
According to ECMWF and Generali, the partnership will create a structured framework for discussing how climate and atmospheric data are used within insurance markets and how those datasets can continue to evolve to meet operational and decision-making needs.
The collaboration also combines ECMWF’s expertise in numerical weather prediction and operational forecasting with the advanced climate datasets and modelling capabilities available through CAMS and C3S.
ECMWF and Generali said the partnership is intended to support clearer interpretation and communication of climate and atmospheric information, helping to encourage consistent application of data while recognising the responsibilities of national services.
Areas of focus for the collaboration include the use of quality-assured Copernicus climate and atmospheric information to improve understanding of climate risks and their underlying causes. ECMWF and Generali also plan to exchange views on insurance sector use cases and decision-making requirements to support future service development within ECMWF’s public mandate.
In addition, the organisations said they aim to promote evidence-based communication through transparent methodologies and openly accessible datasets in order to reduce the potential for misinterpretation.
Marco Sesana, Group General Manager at Generali, added: “As climate change increasingly disrupts global value chains with often severe impacts on communities, advancing our understanding of extreme weather events is essential to developing innovative solutions that can strengthen resilience and help close protection gaps.
“Generali through our Group Climate Hub is proud to engage with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts to enhance critical climate insights and translate these into practical applications for the insurance industry and beyond. Our goal is to leverage shared expertise and specialised capabilities to develop forward-looking solutions that safeguard people, businesses and society against the growing risks of climate change.”
The partnership complements its wider responsibility for implementing the Copernicus Climate Change Service and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service on behalf of the European Commission, providing open-access climate and atmospheric information for use across both the public and private sectors.
