The Geneva Association's 2025 Climate Change & Environment Conference, will take place virtually on 29 October 2025.
As the impacts of climate change intensify and mitigation efforts experience delays, the urgency to invest in adaptation and local resilience has never been greater. At the same time, governments must enable affordable housing and develop critical infrastructure to support growing populations while the private sector invests in commercial and industrial assets for economic development. This convergence of climate and development pressures demands a clear roadmap to strengthen societal resilience against extreme weather events.
The Geneva Association’s 2025 Climate Change & Environment Conference will explore how preventive strategies – such as risk-informed land-use planning and retrofitting existing structures – combined with technological innovation like AI could transform ways to safeguard lives, assets, livelihoods, and long-term economic stability. It will examine the role of insurance not only as a financial backstop but as a way to guide smarter adaptation investments, incentivise resilience, and close protection gaps.
Using wildfire risk management as an example, the conference will showcase how innovation, preventive measures, and cross-sector collaboration can drive and scale societal resilience to intensifying extreme weather.
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Agenda
Welcome remarks and setting the stage
14:00 - 14:05 CET
Keynote speech: Beyond the Payout – The Power of Prevention & Innovation Amidst Extreme Weather Events
14:05 - 14:25 CET
Moderator: Maryam Golnaraghi
Panel 1: From Recovery to Prevention – Building resilience before the storm
14:25 - 15:15 CET
As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, the growing exposure and vulnerability of homes, businesses, and infrastructure underscore a critical challenge: too often, short-term development decisions override long-term resilience.
This panel will examine how to pivot from reactive disaster response to prevention – where resilience is a foundational principle in planning, design, permitting, construction, and investment. It will examine how the insurance sector is evolving from a payer of losses to a strategic partner in resilience – leveraging R&D, risk-based pricing, risk analytics, product and service innovation, and strategic partnerships.
Speakers 
Break
15:15 - 15:20 CET
Fireside chat
15:20 - 15:40 CET
Details to be announced
Panel 2: Innovation & Prevention at the Crossroads: Rethinking wildfire management
15:40 - 16:25 CET
As wildfires become more frequent and destructive, the intersection of technological innovation and prevention has become critical to protecting lives, property, and ecosystems. This panel brings together leading international experts from wildfire community planning, technology, risk management, finance, and insurance to explore cutting-edge solutions and policies that help communities stay ahead of escalating wildfire threats. From AI-driven early detection and suppression to wildfire-resilient building practices, risk-informed land-use zoning, and community preparedness programmes, panellists will discuss how integrated strategies can reduce losses and strengthen long-term resilience in fire-prone regions.
Speakers
Closing remarks
16:25 - 16:00 CET
