Van Leur is the keynote speaker at the Climate Afternoon that takes place at the Dutch Association of Insurers. In addition to insurers, the government, insurance brokers and regulators, scientists and students can also be found in the room. Everything shows that Van Leur has been in front of the cameras for years. She talks easily and goes through her presentation at a breakneck pace. But above all, she is enthusiastic and passionate.
She has given her presentation the title Today we have tomorrow in her hands and shows the necessary changes. In the weather, energy, raw materials, our food, humanity, (geo)politics and diseases/plagues. "In the past, a tropical mosquito did not feel well in our country. Now he spends most of the year thinking: it's not that bad."
Her message is quickly clear: "Did you think it was hot last summer? It could be the coolest summer of the rest of your life! This is the new normal. Get used to it!"
On the morning of her presentation, various media reported on the Association's Climate Damage Monitor that was published that day. For example, NOS.nl headline 'More extreme weather costs insurers more and more money'. Interesting headline, says Van Leur, because who pays for that? Moreover, insurers are very distant for an average Dutch person. She wonders aloud why the editor in question did not choose the headline: 'Extreme weather is costing ONS more and more money'. That is more in line with the consequences.
Or, to speak in Van Leur's terms: "The weather, our climate and sustainability consist of many dominoes. One small domino can push over larger and larger stones, but we find it difficult to oversee what causes what. There are so many dangers associated with climate change. Think of wildfires, but also of the drying out of the soil, which creates dangers for our industry and infrastructure. Or think of flooding. We build where we want and disrupt the Delta in the process. We can still turn the tide, but then we have to go full throttle. Starting today."
Helga van Leur gives lectures, chairs conferences and regularly supervises inspiration and knowledge meetings on sustainability. It is her firm belief that change is necessary to preserve what we have.
In 2020, together with Govert Schilling, she wrote the book Day & Night – Heaven Explained. In April of this year, the successor From summer day to winter night – The four seasons explained was published.
Her main message? "Above all, look up and around you and marvel at what you see, hear or feel."
"No, certainly not. I'm not that mission-driven. To be honest, I mainly looked at what gives me energy. And when I hear back from a room how people are working on our climate because of the story, I get energy. When I ask people now if they ever eat vegetarian, a lot of hands go up in the air. Five years ago, that would only be a few. I love getting things moving. Television is much more one-way traffic. Maybe people will also start moving, but I don't usually hear that."
"I like to open people up. I don't need to convince them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it is not mine. But there is a lot of ignorance. People easily get stuck in the opinion that gives them an excuse not to change anything. For example, that flying is part of the game and China will do what it wants anyway. I understand all that, but when I see people during a lecture thinking: hey, maybe I can do something after all, I really think that's a gift."
"I always try to be open to other people's opinions. I teach my children that too. It's so easy to have a bias or to think in boxes, but in the end that doesn't bring you anything. You can even learn from people you really hate. Why is someone like that? Why does he say what he says and what makes him think that way? People are often concerned with what others can do for them. You can also turn it around: what can you do for someone else? But the saying is not mine, is it? I 'stole' it from Nelson Mandela."
"I don't need to convince people. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion"
"That only works if you make them realise that they have a choice. Doing nothing is also a choice. That only costs five times more than if we do something together. It is not for nothing that I choose the title Today you have tomorrow in your hands. That applies to our entire behaviour and to every choice you make. Ranging from the groceries you do to the food you take. If you want to lose weight and you don't leave anything out, it won't work, but that's your choice."
"Yes, definitely. That is why we should not always let it depend on what someone else does. If you want to live in the here and now and don't care about future generations, that's also a choice. That is freedom. There is a very funny picture of men who often sit with their legs wide in company. If I do that now, I'll be nice and wide, but I'll take away a piece of freedom from you. If I just keep my legs together and settle for a little less comfort, we both have enough space. And let's face it: how bad is that? I can't determine that for everyone, but everyone has a choice."
"I would almost say: how many disasters do you want to have? When the hailstorms fell over Brabant and Limburg in 2016, I was on my way to Humberto Tan. Once I arrived at the studio, I received the first photos. Photos of hailstones that were about ten centimetres in size. For a moment I thought they were old recordings of American storms. But it was Someren. Weird. We are six years (!) later, but there are still cars driving around in Someren with a poffertjes roof. Last year we had to contend with the floods in Limburg. We were lucky. There were no casualties. The Meuse is just not flooded. That rain fell in an area with hills and valleys. What if the same rain falls in the Randstad? There are no valleys there, only concrete. And also look at the sustainability issue. We have known for fifty years what our behaviour does to the climate. Only now we are suddenly alert, because energy prices are so high. Somehow, we find it complicated to deploy broadly in advance if we don't know what is going to happen, but we do have to make sure that we are safe and less vulnerable. There is always a new crisis on top of it, which we suddenly find even more important. I think we have a political body for that. Politicians must determine the goal, set the markers and then stick strictly to them."
"We were lucky in the summer of 2021. There were no casualties and the Meuse was just not flooded. But what if the same rain falls in the Randstad?"
"That ball is everywhere. Politicians must look at the long term, but at the same time we all have to take our responsibility and make (different) choices. You want to be paid fairly? Rightly so, but why do you buy a very cheap shirt from China, while you know that transport costs will be added, people will not be paid fairly and the environment will be unnecessarily burdened? If you realise that and then ask yourself whether you really need that shirt, you make a much more conscious choice."
"Insurers can enter into discussions more and more often. What can we do for you? What do you need? You don't have to be insured for everything. You can easily carry some loads yourself. It is very easy to say that you want to be helped when something happens, but if you want to live in a place where you can't really live, then you make yourself very vulnerable. What can and should you expect from an insurer?"
"I would think it would be much better if insurers were to sit at the front. Make sure that you as a sector are at the table when decisions are made. Then you can put your conditions on the table and demand that construction takes place in a circular, bio-based and future-proof way. If you are only called in afterwards, once things have gone wrong, it hurts much more. Insurers need to think more about affordable, future-proof and insurable construction."
Climate change threatens new constructionLike Helga van Leur, Richard Weurding, managing director of the Dutch Association of Insurers, also argues that the sector should share knowledge and insight with the government, so that they can make sensible decisions together.
In an interview with Eva Smal (NRC) he makes 'a call to act'. "We all have to get to work, but the government must take the lead."
"Or just give choices. If you want to build this way, it is not insurable. Explain that to your customer. But if you do it this way, future-proof and stable in value, you pay less premium and it also remains insurable. In this way, insurers prevent houses from being built in areas where the suffering will soon be incalculable. Perhaps they can design a climate risk label, similar to the energy label, from a to f. Insurers can be much more open. If one person wants to insure something and another doesn't, that's fine, right? As long as they are transparent and give that to buyers. Preferably right away with the purchase contract. If you really want to live there, fine, but then you do have a certain responsibility."
"Certainly. I call it making it less vulnerable. It has three solutions, including the three A's: tackle, adapt or accept. What do you do if you have a leak at home? You can put buckets anywhere or replace your wooden floor with one made of stones. But if you don't address the cause, it will go from bad to worse. And certainly when it comes to climate impact, it ultimately costs society much more. Tackling that source is so incredibly important. That is the core. You have to turn off the tap, otherwise it's mopping up with the tap open and it will continue to mop up harder and harder with the tap open."
(Text: Miranda de Groene - Photography: Ivar Pel)
"If you have a leak in the house, you can put buckets anywhere. But you can also turn off the tap!"