Allianz Climate Risk Award: "Scientific research is vital in addressing climate change"

Allianz Re has proudly awarded for the eighth time the 2024 Allianz Climate Risk Award to three outstanding academic researchers in the field of climate risk. This year's winner is Supriya Krishnan from TU Delft, recognized for her work on "Proactive Urban Planning for Catastrophic Flood Resilience."

“Climate change remains the defining risk of our time, and scientific research is vital in addressing this challenge,” stated Holger Tewes Kampelmann, CEO of Allianz Reinsurance. “The exceptional work of this year’s finalists enhances our understanding of climate change and aids in the development of strategies to quantify and adapt to these risks.”

The 2024 finalists invited to present their work in front of a jury included Zélie Stalhandske from ETH Zurich, who shared insights on "Global Multi-hazard Risk Assessment in a Changing Climate" and Joseph W. Lockwood from Columbia University, who presented on "Improving Extreme Weather Modeling with Machine Learning: An Application to Tropical Cyclone Wind Fields," These three scientists were selected from a pool of ten finalists to present their groundbreaking research in Munich. More than 70 researchers had applied to the Allianz Climate Risk Award.

Sibylle Steimen, Managing Director Advisory & Services, Allianz Reinsurance, emphasized the importance of integrating scientific insights into practical applications: “At Allianz Re, we are committed to ensuring that cutting-edge scientific research informs our decision-making processes to better protect our customers.”

Allianz Re acts as the Center of Competence for Natural Perils for the Allianz Group, providing expertise, tools and analytics along the entire (re)insurance value chain to optimize the Allianz Group’s exposure to natural perils.

The annual Allianz Climate Risk Award recognizes the work of ten scientists of which three are selected to present their work to an interdisciplinary jury that includes experts from in- and outside of Allianz for a final ranking and a monetary award.

The jury for the 2024 Allianz Climate Risk Award included Emilia Macarie, Allianz Group Sustainability Officer, Ludovic Subran, Allianz Chief Economist, Holger Tewes Kampelmann, CEO Allianz Reinsurance, Sibylle Steimen, Managing Director Advisory & Services, Allianz Reinsurance, Markus Stowasser, Global Head of Catastrophe Risk Management, Allianz Reinsurance, Prof. Dr. Ralf Ludwig, Chair of Geography and Geographical Remote Sensing, and Julian Hofmann, the winner of the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award.