Lloyd’s of London and Allianz are just two of the big names that have recently quit the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), an association of the UN-backed Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).
Axa, the NZIA’s former chair, Swiss Re, Scor, Mapfre and Sompo Holding also announced their departure from the Alliance, two months after Munich Re, Zurich and Hannover Re made similar moves.
The NZIA was launched at the G20 Climate Summit in 2021 to support the transition to a net-zero economy and tackle the climate emergency.
The departures come from increasing pressure from US lawmakers and politicians.
An open letter to the NZIA signed by over 20 US attorneys stated the actions from the Alliance has led to “serious detrimental effects on the residents of our states.”
“The push to force insurance companies and their clients to rapidly reduce their emissions has led not only to increased insurance costs, but also to high gas prices and higher costs for products and services across the board, resulting in record-breaking inflation and financial hardships for the residents of our states,” it continued.
Republican politicians are also turning up the heat on sustainability campaigns. Reuters reported in April that 99 anti-ESG bills were filed in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 39 in the whole of 22.
“These political attacks are now interfering with insurers’ independent efforts to price climate risk, which will harm policyholders, main street investors and local economies,” a GFANZ spokesperson told ESG Today. “Despite these political headwinds, we will continue to support insurers’ efforts to manage climate risk and develop transition plans.”
