On the morning of June 17, 2023, the "ESG Sustainable Development and Green Insurance Seminar," jointly organized by the Insurance School of the University of International Business and Economics, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the United Kingdom, and KPMG Enterprise Advisory (China) Co., Ltd., was grandly held at the Integrity Building of the University of International Business and Economics. More than 180 experts and scholars from domestic and foreign life insurance companies, property insurance companies, professional intermediary organizations, higher education institutions, and research institutions attended the conference.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Gao Ling, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Insurance School. Zhao Zhongxiu, President of the University of International Business and Economics, Sun Jian, Regional Manager of IFoA Greater China, Li Lewen, Insurance Industry Leader Partner of KPMG China, and Wang Simiao, Chief Officer of the China Insurance Industry Association, delivered speeches one after another.

Mr. Zhao Zhongxiu, president of the University of International Business and Economics, on behalf of the university, warmly congratulated the convening of this seminar. He mentioned that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward, "Nature is the fundamental condition for human survival and development. Respecting nature, adapting to nature, and protecting nature are intrinsic requirements for building a socialist modernization country in an all-around way. We must firmly establish and practice the concept that green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets, and plan development from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between man and nature." Achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality is an inherent requirement for implementing the new development concept, building a new development pattern, and promoting high-quality development. It is a major strategic decision made by the central government to coordinate domestic and international situations. The insurance industry has a dual role as a "stabilizer" in society and an "accelerator" in the economy, and it can play an important and unique role in promoting the green transformation of development mode. Therefore, the convening of this seminar is timely and reflects the high concern, responsibility, and sense of duty of both academia and the industry toward the country's major development strategies. The University of International Business and Economics is one of the earliest universities in China to offer insurance-related courses. In recent years, the Insurance School has seized opportunities and achieved rapid development. It has established a complete disciplinary training system covering undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral programs and has formed a large insurance discipline group with "risk management" at its core. The quality of talent cultivation continues to improve. The school adheres to the same frequency as the national development strategy, fully leverages the advantage of clustering in the field of insurance research, and has achieved high-quality development in academic research.

Sun Jian, Regional Manager of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) Greater China, expressed in his speech that this seminar is a collaborative effort involving academia, industry, and professional associations, creating a full-day professional sharing and discussion platform. It is a great opportunity for professionals in the industry to expand their thinking and share experiences. The IFoA not only continues to conduct research in traditional fields but also invests in research in emerging areas such as insurance investments, ESG sustainable development, risk management, industry innovation and transformation, and artificial intelligence. This commitment aims to provide the industry with more valuable insights and outcomes. Following that, Li Lewen, Insurance Industry Leader Partner of KPMG China, delivered a speech. He emphasized that ESG sustainable development and green insurance bring not only short-term benefits but also significant long-term benefits, with profound implications. Insurance companies naturally have a strong role to play in this topic, as they can contribute to sustainable development from both the liability and asset sides. KPMG has specialized teams in climate change and sustainable development, as well as a dedicated insurance industry consulting team for green insurance. They hope to contribute to ESG sustainable development and green insurance as part of society. Lastly, Wang Simiao, Chief Officer of the China Insurance Industry Association, also addressed the audience. She discussed several key points regarding green insurance: firstly, recognizing the importance of green insurance from a national strategic perspective; secondly, solidifying the institutional foundation and continuously improving the top-level design of green insurance; thirdly, conducting in-depth research and exploring new paths for the insurance industry to serve green insurance; and fourthly, actively exploring practical measures to enhance the effectiveness of green insurance coverage. The association will continue to consolidate industry efforts, play a coordinating role, guide the industry in fulfilling its social responsibility for green development, and promote domestic and international exchanges and cooperation.

During the keynote speech session, Cai Yu, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Insurance Association, presented five key research directions for insurance research under the "dual carbon" goals. These directions include strengthening theoretical research on risk management in the insurance industry's "dual carbon" efforts, enhancing research and innovation in the property insurance industry's response to climate change risks, exploring insurance research in health risk prevention in life insurance, emphasizing research in the insurance capital field, and focusing on case studies during the initial stages of "dual carbon" efforts. These research areas aim to accumulate Chinese experience for the insurance industry. Li Xuan, Deputy Researcher at the Center for Environmental and Economic Policy Research of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, introduced the center's recent research work on environmental liability insurance, with a focus on sharing relevant policies and practices in local pilot projects. Tang Yu, Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Insurance (China), delivered a speech on "ESG Management Practices and Challenges in the International Insurance Industry." Shen Ying, Managing Partner for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at KPMG China, spoke about "How to Measure and Assess the Value and Investment Return of ESG." Xie Yuantao, Dean of the Insurance School at the University of International Business and Economics, provided an overview of the school's disciplinary construction and achievements in recent years. He shared progress in the school's green insurance research in terms of academic achievements, talent cultivation, and social services. Lastly, he proposed a framework for green insurance and green development from an academic research perspective, providing a theoretical foundation for related research in green insurance.

In the afternoon breakout sessions, participants engaged in discussions on four main themes: "Green Insurance Business Innovation," "ESG and Insurance Asset Management," "ESG Risk Management," and "ESG in Insurance Education."

The first session, themed "Green Insurance Business Innovation," was moderated by Wang Yu, Deputy Director of KPMG China. Notable speakers, including Li Xiaoxuan, General Manager of PICC Risk Research and Development Center, Peng Yong, Director of Changzheng Research Institute and Founder of Beijing Newton Numerical Information Technology Co., Ltd., Wu Xue Ming, Deputy Director of the China Insurance Research Institute, Tie Rongtong, Vice President of Aerospace Sinteti Intelligence Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Li Jiarong, Actuary for Reinsurance and Health Insurance at Swiss Re China, and Wang Xiaogang, a Ph.D. candidate from the Insurance School at the University of International Business and Economics, shared insights on topics such as "Exploring and Reflecting on ESG Insurance Products," "Current Status and Future Development Trends of Innovative Green Insurance Products," "Innovation and Reflections on Agricultural Insurance within the Green Insurance System," "Exploration and Practice of Vegetation Carbon Sink Insurance," "Innovative Thinking on Sustainable Development of Chinese Life Insurance Products," and "Research on New Insurance Systems for Intelligent Electric Vehicles."

The second session, titled "ESG and Insurance Asset Management," was hosted by Chen Zhengjie, Deputy Director of KPMG China. Chen Zhengjie, along with Baidu Xueshi, Head of Overseas Investment Department at Sunshine Asset Management, Liu Xiangfeng, Founder of Beijing Zhideng Technology Co., Ltd., Wang Anfeng, General Manager of Huayufeng Technology Company, Li Min, Project Manager at Xinhua Retirement Strategic Planning Department, and Xu Gaolin, Associate Professor at the Insurance School of the University of International Business and Economics, delivered keynote speeches on themes including "Building ESG Investment Capabilities with International Experience," "Constructing a Unique ESG Investment System for Chinese Insurance Companies," "Enhancing Data Governance to Facilitate ESG Investment Implementation in Insurance Asset Management," "Enhancing Technological Capabilities to Support Green Investment," "Exploration and Practice of Insurance ESG Investment in the New Era," and "Exploration of ESG Investment by Foreign Insurers."

The third session, titled "ESG Risk Management," was moderated by Tang Yu, Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Insurance (China). Keynote speeches were delivered by Yuan Xi, Global Director of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Wang Zixin, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Consultant at Zurich Insurance, Xinsijian, General Manager of Law & Policy Consulting Services Ltd., Yan Luoyang, Manager at KPMG China, He Xiaowei, Associate Professor at the Insurance School of the University of International Business and Economics, and Li Zhengxiao, Associate Professor at the Insurance School of the University of International Business and Economics. Topics included "Quantifying Climate Change Risk for Financial Institutions," "Analysis and Management of Corporate Climate Change Risks," "Practical Discussion on Engineering Quality Potential Defect Insurance," "Climate Risk Stress Testing," "Practice and Optimization of Urban Catastrophe Insurance Compensation from a Resilience Perspective," and "Multi-dimensional Earthquake Risk Models and Insurance Fund Estimation."

The fourth session, themed "ESG in Insurance Education," was moderated by Professor You Guiyun from the Insurance School of the University of International Business and Economics. In the first segment, Zhao Ming from Capital University of Economics and Business School of Finance and Chen Hua from Central University of Finance and Economics presented papers on "The Impact of Directors and Senior Executives' Liability Insurance on ESG Performance of Listed Companies" and "An Empirical Study on the Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Risk Taking: Based on Chinese A-share Listed Companies." In the subsequent insurance education roundtable forum, Zhou Hua, Dean of the Insurance School at Central University of Finance and Economics, Yu Wenguang, Dean of the Insurance School at Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Chen Hui, Dean of the Insurance School at Guangdong Finance Institute, Xu Airong, Dean of the Insurance School at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Xie Yuantao, Dean of the Insurance School at the University of International Business and Economics, along with representatives from the Ministry of Education and other university insurance departments, engaged in discussions and exchanges on the development of insurance education.