AEMO reports that in the first quarter of 2025, Australia's main power grid hit a milestone — 43% of its electricity came from renewable sources, the highest ever recorded for this period since the inception of the National Energy Market! 🌱⚡

Following recent discussions, we are seeking expressions of interest to join a limited-term working group focused on carbon markets, including the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) and international schemes.

This group will explore how these markets operate, identify key players and regulatory bodies, and assess the role actuaries might play. The group will also consider whether carbon markets are a field in which Australian actuaries should be proactively building local capability or align with existing work from the IAA.

If you're interested in participating, please reach out to Alison Drill and Ramona Meyricke with a short paragraph outlining your background or interest by 31 July 2025. We expect the group to be active for around 3–6 months with a time commitment of 2-4 hours per month.

Adaptation finance and climate-related disclosures were some topics of discussion during the Summit's numerous climate and sustainability sessions.

In a world where climate risks are escalating faster than finance can keep up, the “Scaling up Adaptation Finance: balancing climate resilience and commercial returns” session tackled the US$194–366 billion annual adaptation finance gap head-on. Fergus Pitt (IGCC), Prof. Ben Newell (UNSW), and CSPC's Alison Drill explored how the reinsurance sector, behavioural science, and institutional investment can work together to drive scalable, climate-resilient solutions.

In “Emission Impossible? - Measuring insurance-associated carbon emissions”, CSPC's Alan Greenfield and Sarah Wood examined methods for estimating insurance-associated emissions and highlighted the potential contributions actuaries can make in this field.

More updates will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

Following discussions with the Productivity Commission and the Climate Change Authority, the Institute made a submission to the Commission's review of “Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transition”. 

Amongst other things, the submission focused on household adaptation in high-risk areas, land use and building codes, and the need for coordination and alignment across all layers of government.

Heidi Hunter explores Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the unique challenges and opportunities that they present in a recent Actuaries Digital article.

Scope 3 emissions encompass all indirect emissions that arise throughout a company's value chain. The article delves into the regulatory requirements, explains why companies need to understand Scope 3 emissions, and identifies key difficulties in measuring them. Actuaries can play a crucial role in supporting organisations in this area by developing methodologies, analysing data, modelling, setting targets, monitoring progress and assessing risks.

Following the Institute's upgraded website, the Climate and Sustainability microsite has been updated!

Providing easy access to a wide range of climate and sustainability resources, including relevant standards and guidance, recent submissions and publications, and upcoming events, this is a great resource for actuaries interested in climate and sustainability.

More resources will be added in the coming months, so be sure to keep an eye on our newsletters for updates!

We also encourage all members working in or interested in climate and sustainability to explore both the refreshed microsite and our newly launched Learning Resource.

The International Actuarial Association (IAA) has released a paper providing an actuarial overview of water-related risks. This includes risks such as water scarcity, flooding, pollution, infrastructure degradation and the related financial and societal impacts.

This is the first of a series of IAA papers and future papers that will explore water risk scenario modelling, regulatory commitments and risk mitigation tools. As many Australians have experienced these risks firsthand, these issues are very relevant to the Australian environment.

Reinforcing its commitment to supporting the implementation of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards), the IFRS Foundation has:

• Launched new e-learning modules to support companies to familiarising themselves with the ISSB standards.
• Published a new guidance document on disclosures of transition plans, which:

1. Supports entities applying IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures;
2. Is designed to enable entities to provide high-quality information about their climate-related transition when applying IFRS S2; and
3. Covers disclosures about any “transition plan” an entity has, including both mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The World Economic Forum published a guide to assist financial institutions in assessing their efforts to align their strategies with nature-positive goals, as well as integrating nature-related data into business-as-usual activities.

The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) released the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy, representing a significant milestone in aligning investment with the nation's net-zero ambitions.

Last year, ASFI released a pilot Sustainable Finance Capability Framework to help guide finance professionals and organisations to develop the skills, knowledge, and mindsets to advance sustainable finance. They recently updated the pilot Framework to include:

• Stronger emphasis on the importance of a sustainability mindset.
• Integration of First Nations considerations across all areas of the Framework.
• Expanded knowledge and skillsets to include sustainability issues beyond climate.