Explore climate action plans, carbon capture and wildfire mitigation in our Climate Summit Series
Each year, Commissioner Mike Kreidler and his climate policy team put together a series of educational presentations on climate change, how it affects our world, and how the insurance industry and community is responding.
The series puts the spotlight on insights from climate scientists, researchers tracking public attitudes toward climate change, insurance executives, leaders of Tribal communities affected by climate change, and state and national elected officials working to address this “must-solve” issue.
With the end of 2023, we wrapped up our sixth Climate Summit Series, which builds on those themes.
The just-completed series includes:
- An in-depth look at the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan (above) and the success of a first-of-its-kind rural community effort to harden itself against climate change. This feature-length documentary includes interviews with farmers, conservationists, program managers, volunteers, plan authors and an ecologist leading a beaver restoration program, covering the seven goals outlined when the plan was drafted in 2021 as part of the response to the increasing threat of wildfires.
- A presentation from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety on critical information to Washington State homeowners who live in wildfire-prone areas.
- A discussion with a representative of Carbfix, an Icelandic company that offers a potentially game-changing carbon capture and storage technology. Hosted by OIC Senior Climate Policy Advisor Jay Bruns, Carbfix — which plans to open a Washington office in the near future — provides some hope that we can tackle climate change before the worst effects come to pass.
The series also includes a four-part Wildfire Symposium, led by OIC Senior Property & Casualty Advisor David Forte, recorded after wildfire season in November. Guests and presenters include:
- Guy Giffords, the Community Resilience Program manager from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
- Representatives from Verisk Analytics, a leading risk assessment firm.
- Carlene Anders, the executive director of the Okanogan County Long-Term Recovery Group.
- The vice president of the Reinsurance Association of America.
We’ve added each video to the OIC’s YouTube page and the OIC’s podcast feeds (anchor.com). You can sign up for updates here.
We hope you’ll check out this year’s presentations and we’re always on the lookout for new, interesting and informative subjects to cover in 2024.
