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Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is to work for a second major financial firm. He will advise the Swiss insurer Zurich on "developments and trends in the international political environment", including climate change. The appointment comes less than three weeks after Mr Blair took on a similar role with investment bank JP Morgan worth a reported £500,000 a year. Mr Blair said he wanted to ensure business "can play its part" in preserving the environment. 'Excited' Zurich was unavailable to comment on how much he will be paid and how much time he will spend working for the company, which has about 58,000 staff and operates in 170 countries. But the company's chief executive, James Schiro, said he was "excited" about signing up Mr Blair. He added: "His appointment sits alongside other initiatives where Zurich has partnered with external thought leaders to challenge and enhance our operational and strategic thinking." Mr Blair will also advise the insurer on its climate initiative - aimed at developing products and research to tackle the growing risks of global warming. He said: "There is a consensus now that the challenge of climate change is real, and what we need now are the policy solutions to turn that concern into action. "That's why Zurich's work to look at how business, and in particular the insurance sector, can play its part is so crucial, and why I welcome the chance to help them with it." Mr Blair, who stepped down in June last year after more than a decade in power, is currently serving as an unpaid international envoy to the Middle East. His appointments with Zurich and JP Morgan come on top of an reported £5m deal for his Downing Street memoirs. He has previously said he would take on a "small handful" of appointments, although a spokesman for his office said there were no other positions "in the immediate pipeline". A Zurich spokeswoman said Mr Blair would be working for the group on an "ad hoc basis". She added: "It is not our policy to comment on the remuneration packages for any of our consultants."
