Environmental Risk Management

A Special Interest Group (SIG) in Environmental Risk Management was launched in February 2009 and is in collaboration with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Its main aim is to connect scientists with industry by establishing a range of collaborative projects in the area of environmental risk management.

NERC is the UK’s main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. As much of the UK industry is affected by environmental issues, it is important to produce relevant academic research and help industry address current challenges, such as predicting extreme weather events and climate change effects. In February 2009, NERC and the Industrial Mathematics KTN partnered to hold a workshop focused on Statistical Modelling of Weather, Climate and Weather Risks for Insurance hosted by Lloyd’s of London. One of the motivations for the workshop was to bring together experts from industry, academia and the weather services, who are using statistical methods to work with weather data. Apart from addressing immediate technical issues in the area of weather modelling, the workshop served as a first step towards setting the wider agenda for environmental risk management in the insurance sector.

The Special Interest Group in Environmental Risk Management was launched at the workshop and will serve as a forum for academics and industrialists to share ideas and establish collaborative projects aimed at addressing current challenges. It is also envisaged that the members of the SIG will play a pivotal role in defining funding strategies for both NERC and the Technology Strategy Board in the area of Environmental Risk Management. The interaction will take place through focused workshops and a number of collaborative mechanisms will be available to members. They will include CASE awards, KTPs and Industrial Mathematics Internships.

If you would like to find out more about the Special Interest Group, become a member or if you have an idea about a potential project, contact Dr Vera Hazelwood.

"The Natural Environment Research Council has been developing links with the insurance community on environmental risk management. To help us take this complex area forward, we have been working with the Maths KTN who ran a workshop for us at Lloyd’s of London in January, bringing our environmental science community together with the insurance industry. The workshop was both successful and enjoyable and we are looking forward to working together in the future to strengthen the UK insurance industry." - Simon Jackman, NERC