Climate adaptation

2023 was the wettest year recorded in Denmark since 1874. Moreover, it is a fact that climate-related damages will increase in the future. 

This means that more and more Danes are left in unfortunate situations with destroyed homes, unmanageable damages, and worthless properties. Sandbags and water tubes are no longer sufficient. And even the most ambitious green transition cannot prevent the climate change and climate damage that is already a reality.

Water from all sides

For half a million Danish homes, the water dangerously is close. It comes from above, from the side, and from below. A conservative estimate is that Danes in 2023 alone were affected by climate-related damages of over DKK 3 billion. 

If we do nothing, the future will render homes in parts of Denmark so expensive to insure, that they cannot be covered in practice. The only viable way forward is prevention - but today, Denmark spends far more resources on repair than on prevention.

Political action is needed 

It is against this backdrop that the Danish insurance and pension industry is calling for political action. F&P is now presenting the industry's input for a new and unified national climate adaptation plan focusing on elements to consider at the national, the municipal and the houseowner level. The aim is to ensure that we do not get more uninhabitable homes. Therefore, we must find a more responsible socio-economic balance between repairing damages caused by climate change and preventing them from happening in the first place.

We cannot wait any longer if we want to adapt Denmark to the future climate realities in time.