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The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) has signed on to the United Nations’ sustainable insurance initiative.

The insurance industry trade group said that it has joined the UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), which aim to promote greater environmental and social sustainability in the global insurance sector.

“Understanding and managing environmental, social and governance risks is critical for insurance to remain affordable and accessible,” said Stephen Frank, president and CEO of the CLHIA, in a release.

“The Principles for Sustainable Insurance play an important role in convening the global insurance industry to develop and share best practices in order to enhance its resilience in the face of future economic shocks related to climate change and extreme weather events,” he added.

CLHIA noted that joining the UN’s initiative aligns with the Canadian industry’s efforts to push governments to take action to address climate-related risks.

In the release, the group said its move is about “recognizing the dramatic and long-term risk that extreme weather events and altered global temperature patterns pose to public health.”