Insurance partnership teams with BlackRock to encourage climate-resilient EM investment

The Insurance Development Forum – a partnership of insurance companies and public bodies that encourages the insurance industry to contribute to the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals – has announced plans to facilitate investment in climate resilient infrastructure in emerging markets.

The IDF has put together a “blueprint” intended to “create a pipeline of infrastructure projects that match insurance sector investment requirements”. This spans social, energy, transportation and utilities infrastructure, as well as nature-based solutions, according to the announcement.

The IDF is working with BlackRock as it “puts its blueprint into action”. Asked whether this involves committing to BlackRock funds, a BlackRock spokesperson told New Private Markets that it “will explore solutions to mobilise insurance and other institutional capital”, and that “it is still early for the collaboration”. IDF declined to comment when posed the same question.

IDF was founded to “optimise and extend the use of insurance and its related risk management capabilities to build greater resilience and protection for people, communities, businesses and public institutions that are vulnerable to disasters and their associated economic shocks”, according to its website. The body has more than 100 members, including insurers, NGOs and public sector institutions. It is supported by the UN and the World Bank.

While IDF does not make investments in its own name, a spokesperson told NPM that it was “engaging with the insurance industry in the hopes of mobilising support for the blueprint“.

Michel Liès, chair of the IDF steering committee, said: “COP28 highlighted the urgent need to scale up the financing for resilient infrastructure. The blueprint was designed by insurers with our specific investment needs in mind. We see this as essential for companies’ and countries’ long-term sustainability, and the effective mobilisation of insurance industry capital towards a much-underserved segment of the infrastructure market in emerging and developing countries.”