Three of Europe’s biggest insurers quit industry net-zero initiative
Three of Europe’s biggest insurers have quit the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance as growing US political pressure and legal fears plunge the climate initiative into crisis.
Axa, the group’s former chair, Allianz and Scor said on Thursday that they were leaving the NZIA, which is one part of Mark Carney’s umbrella group Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, created by the former Bank of England governor ahead of the UN climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021.
Insurers have come under increasing pressure from activist investors and campaigners in recent years to cut their coverage of the most polluting sectors.
The NZIA was one attempt to corral insurers around the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of their underwriting, but critics highlighted the lack of US members and the fact that a ban on insuring coal was not a condition of joining.
The challenges faced by the NZIA demonstrate the need for greater intervention by governments, argued Peter Bosshard, co-ordinator of the Insure our Future advocacy group: “If the insurers can no longer act collectively, this is a strong reason for regulation.”
Lloyd’s of London, the City’s speciality insurance market, which was subject to yet another protest by climate activists at its annual meeting on Thursday, said it remained a member of the NZIA but added that it was “for the individual businesses that operate in the Lloyd’s market to make their own business and strategy decisions”.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, which convenes the NZIA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest departures, but has previously noted that it is “a voluntary initiative”.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Ian Smith
