The place and role of insurance in shaping a “greenˮ economy

The paper implements an institutional and functional approach to determining the place and role of insurance in shaping a “green” economy. The ways of integrating it as a constituent element of the financial system have been considered. The views of scientists involved in various aspects of modelling the “green” economy on the functional utility of insurance have been summarised. The use of the term “green insurance” and the meanings it implies have been analysed. The author has concluded that the relevant concept of “green insurance” is not yet so unambiguous that it can be used as a scientific concept. Another important conclusion that has been brought up for discussion is that the potential of insurance as a risk management tool within the green economy strategy is not to be confined to environmental insurance, but should be considered in expanding its scope of application to include both the fuller coverage of risk carriers and the range of potential hazards.