The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the latest climate change report from the United Nations (UN), saying the latest findings on the state of the planet will provide “further guidance on this important issue”.

As reported last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change – provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5 degrees in the next decades.

And it says unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5 degrees or even 2 degrees will be beyond reach.

The IPCC says many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion – such as continued sea level rise – are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.

“The ICA accepts the science of climate change and welcomes the IPCC report providing further guidance on this important issue,” a spokesman said.

“As an industry we are working hard to realise the practical action we can take to drive resilience and protect Australian communities and their assets.”

ICA says the industry is collaborating with every level of government and working closely with the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and the Australia Climate Services to accelerate and amplify effective risk reduction projects.

“We commend their approach and engagement,” the spokesman said. “However, we call on all levels of government to make further urgent investment in critical resilience and mitigation projects to protect Australian communities and their assets.”

According to the IPCC, every region including Australasia is already feeling the adverse effects of man-made carbon pollution and the report projects that in the coming decades climate change will increase in all regions.

Land areas in Australia have warmed by about 1.4 degrees between 1910 and last year, the report says.

“The science is clear and the risk is real,” Finity Principal Rade Musulin told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says the IPCC report is an “important milestone” that updates the science and finds that human influence is “unequivocal”.

“That will place greater pressure on governments around the world to act,” Mr Musulin said. “The new scenarios will help companies stress test their strategies to manage climate risk, and the additional research on extreme events is welcome.

“As for insurers, the report should not significantly change strategy or pricing in the near term because… clear trends have been observed in extreme weather for some time.”

Click here for the IPCC regional fact sheet on Australasia.