Insuring Nature

54 Pages Posted: 18 Nov 2019

See all articles by Carolyn Kousky

Carolyn Kousky

Environmental Defense Fund

Sarah E. Light

University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School - Legal Studies & Business Ethics Department

Date Written: November 6, 2019

Abstract

Scholars and policymakers have argued that insurance can shape behavior in ways that mitigate climate risks, such as by providing financial incentives to property owners to safeguard their property from increasingly intense hurricanes or from the risk of sea-level rise. But natural ecosystems like coral reefs, mangroves, and forest ecosystems can themselves protect property from these increased climate risks. This Article turns the climate governance literature on its head, examining the circumstances under which it is possible to insure nature itself in order to preserve these critical ecosystem services in the face of a changing climate.

Keywords: ecosystem services, insurance, climate change, environmental governance, private environmental governance

Suggested Citation

Kousky, Carolyn and Light, Sarah E., Insuring Nature (November 6, 2019). Duke Law Journal, Vol. 69, pp. 323-376 (2019), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3481896

Carolyn Kousky

Environmental Defense Fund ( email )

1875 Connecticut ave
257 Park Avenue South
Washington, DC 20009
United States

Sarah E. Light (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School - Legal Studies & Business Ethics Department ( email )

3730 Walnut Street
Suite 600
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6365
United States

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