Resilience strategies, opportunities and transition risks
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6.5 MANAGING POLLUTION AND WASTE AS A LOCAL AND GLOBAL TASK
6.7 PARAMETRIC INSURANCE AND DEDICATED TRUSTS AS A RISK MANAGEMENT TOOL One option for managing risk of physical harm to the Reef, and consequential economic and other losses, is establishing a dedicated management trust fund and obtaining parametric insurance cover. The use of dedicated funds to manage risk has precedent in Australia and a number of other jurisdictions, particularly in the context of terrorism risks. Australia put in place an insurance fund arrangement following the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, and the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation would provide insurance cover from the pool in the event of a declared terrorist event. The use of parametric insurance products is also becoming more widespread. These insurance products provide cover where a specific event occurs and differ from traditional types of insurance policies as
feasibility study. Projects included harvesting of coral spawn slicks (floating bundles of coral egg and sperm), and establishing coral settlement structures to withstand heavy seas and cyclones. 57 Other opportunities are likely to emerge in the area of ‘blue carbon’, as carbon is stored in three coastal ecosystems: mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses. Protecting and restoring coastal blue carbon ecosystems offers opportunities for carbon sequestration and abatement. The Australian Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) provides incentives for Australian businesses, farmers, land holders and others to adopt new practices and technologies to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and receive Australian carbon credit units for each tonne of carbon reduction. The Department of the Environment and Energy is exploring opportunities for blue carbon under the ERF, including contracting the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to undertake a Technical review in 2017 of potential carbon abatement opportunities and barriers for blue carbon under the ERF. 58 However, further progress on this initiative appears to have stalled.
they involve advance agreement between the insurer and insured that a specific payment will bemade upon the occurrence of a specific event.When the insured event takes place, this triggers a fixed amount to be paid to the insured. The amount payable can be based on a modelled forecast of the loss that the policyholder will incur. There is no need for the insured to make a specific claim or for the insurer to investigate the precise extent or cause of damage. Triggering events can be anything, but are often set by reference to a measure of a catastrophic natural event, such as hurricane cover triggered by wind speeds exceeding a certain pre-agreed intensity. Parametric insurance can therefore provide greater certainty of coverage and payments for weather related risks can be made more quickly. This can be crucial for governments and communities responding to natural disasters or environmental issues that may occur.
To some degree, managing activities in the Reef itself cannot stand alone to global responses to issues such as marine pollution and litter, as the ocean currents have potential to bring marine plastics and other waste from outside the Marine Park and across the globe into the Reef. As such, the resilience of the Reef is also dependent on national and international measures to reduce the generation and improper disposal of waste and pollution reduction. 56 Investment in scientific research to build the resilience of the Reef has produced opportunities for innovators and landowners to participate in regenerative projects. For example, in 2018 the Australian and Queensland governments launched the Coral Abundance Innovation Challenge to call for tenders for projects to enhance coral abundance. Six innovators were invited to undertake an eight-month 6.6 OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGENERATIVE PROJECTS
56 https://enb.iisd.org/oceans/risk/summit-1/html/enbplus186num12e.html 57 http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/06ac91f1-9983-4f95-ae8d-0fbcec6e04e2/files/reef-2050- annual-report-2018.pdf 58 https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/government/australia-work-on-blue-carbon
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