Sachs: Insuring for disaster - Opinion

Natural disasters like the devastating earthquake in Nepal constitute a highly uncertain but quantifiable risk, writes Jeffrey Sachs in an op-ed in the New York Times.

Sachs emphasizes the need for a global system of disaster insurance, which may not be perfect and would take time to implement, but could save many lives and livelihoods in the years ahead, and help vulnerable low-income countries like Haiti and Nepal chart a path to sustainable development.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is special adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on the Millennium Development Goals and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.