Campaign group Insure Our Future has sent an open letter to the CEOs of 30 major insurance firms, outlining concrete actions they should take to support a 1.5°C temperature pathway. The letter has called on firms to immediately stop offering any insurance services which support the expansion of coal, oil and gas production, further phasing out all insurance services for fossil fuel companies which are not 1.5°C-aligned within the next two years. Insurance firms must also immediately divest all assets, including those managed by third parties, from coal, oil and gas companies that are not aligned with 1.5°C, the letter said, adding that there are currently “numerous loopholes in policies and standards” that nonetheless allow insurers to continue underwriting the expansion of fossil fuel production. Further, firms should fine and adopt binding targets for reducing their insured emissions by July, Insure Our Future said. “In the last few years, many insurance companies have adopted exclusion policies which have helped accelerate the shift away from coal,” the letter said. “However, […] overall the industry has failed to align its business with the scientific consensus on what is required to limit global warming to 1.5°C.” Recipients of the letter include Allianz, AXA, Munich Re and Zurich.
Insurance is the Achilles heel of the fossil fuel industry, which continues to expand the extraction of coal, oil & gas in spite of the climate crisis. The #InsureOurFuture campaign just published a new platform calling on insurers to end their cover for fossil fuel expansion.🧵 pic.twitter.com/FGOnlHda56
— PeterBosshard (@PeterBosshard) March 28, 2023
