Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced she will visit London, England, to learn more about global climate change and its potential effects on insurance and financial markets.
As part of the visit, scheduled for November and sponsored by the British government, Ms. Sink said she will meet with national officials as well as officials for the City of London.
Ms. Sink said she expected to hear about successes they have had in addressing the challenges presented by climate change to the insurance and financial industries.
She also said she will speak with experts at the London School of Economics and the Royal Bank of Scotland to discuss the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents for Florida.
"With 1,200 miles of coastline, Florida is one of the most vulnerable states to the effects of climate change and rising sea levels. It is essential that Florida is prepared…," Ms. Sink said, adding that as CFO she is "specifically aware of the challenges to our insurance and financial markets."
"London is the epicenter of the world's global financial and reinsurance markets, and the United Kingdom is an international leader in analyzing and combating the financial risks of climate change. Florida can benefit from our shared partnership," remarked Ms. Sink.
Her visit will also include a meeting with officials at Lloyd's to discuss the state's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and the impact that private reinsurance has in Florida's property insurance market.
Ms. Sink was officially invited to Britain by Keith Allan, British consul general to Miami, who in April spoke on the U.K.'s international perspective on climate change at the Florida Cabinet's first Climate Change workshop.
"Action to address the global impact of climate change is a top international priority for the British Government," Mr. Allan said. "We have been hugely impressed by the leadership shown by Governor Crist and CFO Sink in putting Florida at the forefront of global efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions and develop alternative energies, and were pleased to sign a partnership with Florida at the Climate Change Summit in Miami in July."
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