30 April 2026
鈥楶lanetary Solvency: Tipping into the wild unknown鈥�, a new report from the 天美MV (IFoA) and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) warns that biodiversity loss, climate shocks and geopolitical conflict are disrupting the food system, risking catastrophic impacts for the financial system and for society as a whole.
It is explained that chronic pressures such as soil degradation and water scarcity are already leading to lower crop yields, pushing up food prices and reducing availability. Acute shocks including trade disruption, extreme weather events and ecological collapse add further stresses, resulting in higher and more volatile food prices.
The report warns that urgent intervention is needed and highlights actions for policymakers, regulators and those working in the financial sector, to integrate nature into decision making in order to safeguard the food system. These include:
Aled Jones HonFIA, lead author and Director, Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, said:
鈥淭he recent National Security Assessment on Global Ecosystems from the UK Government has shown that the potential collapse of nature is a realistic possibility. Our current economy is set up to deliver efficiency, profit and thereby a just-in-time system that both drives this threat and provides little to no resilience against it.
鈥淲e need radical new policy and direction to tackle these emerging risks and, with this report, the actuarial profession is signalling its desire to contribute its unique expertise to shaping our response. In the report, we highlight key risks from food through pandemics and outline a set of recommendations including the need to move away from waiting to measure and quantify everything before we take the urgent action that is needed.鈥�
