INTERVIEW-WEF panel says gov'ts should add risk ministers
Source: Reuters
By Gilbert Le Gras WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Governments should add Cabinet-level positions to coordinate emergency responses to pandemics, extreme weather and oil price spikes, a World Economic Forum study group said on Thursday. This was one of the key finding of a panel discussion of policy makers and academics in London after scholars, business and government leaders met in New York last month to define what are the top three risks in the world. "We have chief risk officers in a lot of corporations. This is something which could be supported for countries to have a cross-functional position that deals with all these issues," said Roland Rechsteiner, one of the organizers of the joint WEF-Marsh & McLennan Companies global risk consultation. A panel report on risk mitigation is due out in early January ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "One very important thing that was said was that the interdependency of all these different risks requires coordination," he said in a telephone interview with Reuters. "The current setup ...does not necessarily support the coordination of solving these issues," he added. The experts were also concerned governments are not applying what they have learned about bird flu responses to other potential problems, he said. So far more than 150 people have died worldwide of the H5N1 virus since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. "There is concern that all the hard learning of avian influenza have not been transferred to other potential pandemics, such as looking at how food supply works if borders are closed," Rechsteiner added. Government and businesses are focusing increasingly on alternative and renewable energy sources but there remain a wide variety of opinions on the best path toward lower greenhouse gas emissions, be it by nuclear or renewable kinds of energy from wind or solar. "Since (2005's Hurricane) Katrina, there's a real belief climate change is happening," Rechsteiner said. "And an oil spike is a catalyst for other global risks." Allianz Group <ALVG.DE> and conservation lobbyist World Wildlife Fund issued a report this month warning that global warming will push up insurance premiums in high-risk areas like coastal Florida and other hurricane-prone areas. It could also increase the risk of wildfires in the western United States. The WEF panelists agreed it was more expedient to focus on policies that alter energy demand and use since ramping up new sources could take a decade to take effect, at best, he added. "If oil spikes beyond $100 a barrel then in the short term we need to work on the demand side because the supply side needs a lot of lead time," Rechsteiner said. Light crude prices <CLc1> traded around $60.35 a barrel in New York on Thursday, down from the all-time high of $78.40 set on July 14 amid tight supplies.
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