Unfriend Coal today welcomed Austrian insurer VIG’s announcement of a strengthened coal policy, but warned that it does not meet the need for a rapid phase-out of coal to meet Paris climate targets. The insurer commits to making no new investments in companies which derive more than 30% of sales from coal mining, among other criteria, a significant improvement on its previous 50% […]
Global insurance think-tank refuses to discuss fossil fuel phase out plans at annual meeting Buenos Aires, Wednesday 29 May. 2019. With banners and sirens, activists from Greenpeace and the Unfriend Coal campaign alerted insurance CEOs, who were convening for their annual meeting in Buenos Aires, to the climate emergency gripping the planet and demanded that […]
Nationale Nederlanden, a Dutch insurance and asset management company active in 18 countries in Europe and Asia with EUR 260bn AuM, has announced a new coal exclusion policy for underwriting and investments The policy will exclude underwriting and proprietary investment in mining companies that derive more than 30% of their revenue from coal extraction, and […]
Aviva will be shown up at its AGM tomorrow for ignoring opportunities to exit the Polish coal sector. Unfriend Coal campaigners will be attending the AGM. In December 2018, Aviva’s open pension fund (OPF) held £214m in Polish coal companies, ENEA, Energa, JSW, LW Bogdanka, PGE, Tauron, ZEW Kogeneracja and ZEPAK. While its coal investments […]
Unfriend Coal campaigners made coal one of the dominant issues at the recent annual general meetings of insurance companies. Here is a brief summary of new policy announcements from the current AGM season: France AXA has committed to apply its 2017 divestment policy to all third-party assets managed by AXA IM by the end of […]
A new briefing on the coal insurance business of Talanx, one of Europe’s leading insurance companies, reveals the weak spots in its recently announced coal exclusion policy. The analysis published today finds that loopholes in the announcement could allow the company to continue supporting the expansion of the coal industry in Poland and Vietnam via […]
May 7 2019 At its AGM today, Generali ruled out insurance for the controversial Turów coal mine in Poland, as well as all existing coal mines in Poland. However, the insurer offered no information on the extent to which the policy will cover both stand-alone and package insurance contracts, a key detail which will determine […]
by Peter Bosshard Insurance brokers play a critical role in the global economy, helping businesses and households find affordable insurance cover. Brokers’ first obligation is to serve their customers – but what does this mean at a time when climate change poses fundamental risks to the insurance industry, its customers and the future of human […]
Lucie Pinson, European coordinator of the Unfriend Coal Campaign and campaign adviser for FoE France attended French (re)insurers AXA and SCOR’s AGMs on Wednesday 24 April and Friday 26 April to call on them to scale up their action on climate change and in particular to commit to fully phase out their exposure to coal […]
Fifteen NGOs supporting the Unfriend Coal campaign warn insurance CEOs of increasing public pressure on companies that do not end their support for coal, extending scrutiny to Asian and North American companies. April 15, 2019 Dear Madam/Sir, Since 2017, the organizations engaged in the Unfriend Coal campaign have called on the insurance industry to stop […]
By Lucie Pinson In November 2018, Generali stated that it was engaging with six coal companies since July 2018, and that it would only renew coverage from March 2019 for those that would present and implement a credible transition plan away from coal. The end of Q1 has long passed, and Generali’s exclusion of Polish […]
On Earth Day, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara chose “collaboration” with the insurance industry over urgent climate action. Commissioner Lara rejected a petition from 60 environmental, consumer and social justice groups that sought to make insurers disclose the fossil fuel projects they insure. The Commissioner’s refusal to act allows insurers to keep their complicity in […]
Asia is Ground Zero of the global coal fleet. Two thirds of the world’s coal power plants are located in the region, and another 585 plants – 76% of the global pipeline – are still under construction or in the planning phase in Asia. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is clear on how […]
Pressure is building on Liberty Mutual to rule out the project. By Elana Sulakshana, Energy Finance Campaigner at Rainforest Action Network An Indian company is desperately clinging to its plans to build one of the world’s largest coal mines in Eastern Australia. In addition to being a massive source of carbon emissions, Adani Group’s Carmichael […]
Australia’s insurance giant QBE has become the first insurer outside Europe to adopt coal restrictions, in a move that will add to the pressure on Japanese, Chinese and Korean coal insurers to follow suit. “QBE’s decision to withdraw insurance from the coal industry is business and environmental good sense,” said Market Forces Campaigner Pablo Brait. […]
Austria’s Uniqa will stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the tenth insurer to announce restrictions on its cover for coal. The new policy is available here. For existing clients, Uniqa will decide whether to renew contracts in 2025, depending on the energy transition plans of each client. Lucie Pinson, European Coordinator of the […]
Spain’s Mapfre is to stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the ninth insurer to announce restrictions for its cover to coal. In a statement Mapfre also re-announced that it will end investment in energy companies that derive more than 30% of income from coal. The company also announced plans to be carbon neutral […]
By Peter Bosshard, Coordinator of the Unfriend Coal campaign We have only 12 years left to save the planet from devastating climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last October. With important governments missing in action, financial institutions have now emerged as unlikely allies of climate activists. In recent months banks and other […]
Austria’s Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) is to stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the eighth insurer to announce restrictions on its cover for coal. The new coal policy is available here and Lucie Pinson, European coordinator of the Unfriend Coal campaign, is available for interview. She said: “VIG’s announcement that it will no longer […]
By Peter Bosshard, Coordinator, Unfriend Coal campaign Scientists have warned that we need to leave most fossil fuels in the ground to keep global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees. We cannot afford to build any new coal projects and must phase out existing coal power plants by 2030 in industrialized countries, and by 2050 in […]