Multifaith global week of action urging insurers to end fossil fuel coverage

Interfaith vigil outside Lloyds of London. Photo Quakers in Britain.

Source: Quakers in Britain

Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian campaigners held a vigil outside Lloyd's of London on Monday, 26 February, urging them to use their power to bring about a safer, prosperous future for all.

As the world's biggest insurance market, Lloyds should end insurance for all new fossil fuel projects and phase out existing fossil fuel insurance, faith groups said.

Coal, gas and oil projects cannot operate without insurance and the interfaith vigil was part of Insure Our Future's global week of climate actions focussing on the insurance industry.

Representatives from all the major UK faiths also issued an open letter calling for moral leadership to Lloyd's syndicates Hiscox, Talbot (subsidiary of AIG), and Tokio Marine.

The quiet vigil was followed later in the day by a street performance by Mothers Rise Up, a group of concerned mothers who campaign for action on climate change.

More than 30 dancers including towering stilt walkers dressed as oil derricks and a huge planet Earth performed to Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Campaigners in the UK are taking part alongside others in the Insure our Future (a coalition of NGOs and social movements) week of action from 26 February to 3 March.

With actions in 27 countries across six continents, this is the largest ever co-ordinated campaign asking the insurance industry to show leadership on the climate.

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk of Quakers in Britain, said: "Those who offer financial backing and social legitimacy to new fossil fuel projects now have an urgent moral responsibility to change course. The insurance industry has significant influence on the global economy; you can put our whole world on a safer trajectory by showing leadership now.

"There is no longer any possible moral justification for continuing to support and enable fossil fuel expansion when the evidence of its catastrophic impacts is so clear."

Collectively, members of the Lloyd's market accounted for an estimated nine per cent of coal, oil, and gas insurance premiums in 2022.

The Lloyd's Council, which sets the rules in its marketplace, has refused to rule out dangerous new fossil fuel projects, associated with environmental damage and human rights breaches, including the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

In contrast, 18 companies have committed to end or restrict insurance for new oil and gas projects.

45 companies have committed to end or restrict insurance on coal projects, and 26 companies have introduced policies to restrict insurance on tar sands projects.

Lloyd's is a leading insurer of coal mines in the US and tar sands in Canada and is the leading insurer of North Sea oil expansion, including in the Arctic.

The full text of the open letter follows:

Dear Brad Irick and Andrew Torrance,

As representatives of UK faith organisations, we are writing to you to ask Tokio Marine to accelerate its action on climate change in response to the escalating threat we all face.

Last year, 24 UK faith representatives wrote to Lloyd's of London asking them to improve their climate commitments. In light of the absence of a response, and the upcoming Insure Our Future Global Week of Action, we are writing to you as a company with syndicates in Lloyd's to ask that you take action where Lloyd's has not.

Catastrophic climate impacts are now a reality for communities around the world. Three years ago, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that under a 1.5 degree scenario, there can be no new coal, oil or gas development. Following this, last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that "[t]here is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all." The decisions we make now will echo for many hundreds of years.

Those who offer financial backing and social legitimacy to new fossil fuel projects now have an urgent moral responsibility to change course. This duty extends to all sectors and all parts of society. The insurance industry has significant influence on the global economy, and you can put our whole world on a safer trajectory by showing leadership now.

2023 was the hottest year on record. Wildfires, extreme heat and storms have been constant, destroying people's health and livelihoods. Deaths from natural disasters in 2023 rose to 74,000, far above the average of 10,000 over the past five years. We all want a safe, healthy planet for our families, our communities, and future generations. The renewable energy sector is growing and represents an important opportunity for the insurance industry to play its role in building a safe, healthy planet. There is no longer any possible moral justification for continuing to support and enable fossil fuel expansion when the evidence of its catastrophic impacts is so clear.

In our faith communities, we are doing our best to live up to our own responsibilities, by drawing on the wisdom of our faith traditions to make the case for climate action, supporting practical projects to cut emissions, and showing solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. Many of the institutions we represent have divested our own assets from fossil fuels. Tokio Marine has power and influence of a different kind. As a company with a significant global role in fossil fuel insurance and two subsidiaries at Lloyd's of London, Tokio Marine has a unique role to play, either choosing to support fossil fuel projects and climate destruction or to support a speedy transition to renewables.

Although Tokio Marine has ruled out tar sand and Arctic oil and gas extractions, it has no restrictions on conventional oil and gas. Other major (re)insurers including Allianz, Swiss Re and Munich Re have recently announced they will no longer provide coverage for new oil and gas. We encourage you to follow their example and:

- commit to ending insurance for all new fossil fuel projects, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IEA, and the UN Secretary-General

- commit specifically to not providing (re)insurance for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline

- announce a timeline for phasing out existing fossil fuel insurance which is in line with the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 degrees.

We hope these issues will be considered at your forthcoming AGM. We would welcome a response from you and would be pleased to meet to discuss this further. Yours sincerely, Paul Parker Recording Clerk Quakers in Britain and gathered UK faith representatives

Letter signatories:

Jamie Cresswell, Director, Centre for Applied Buddhism

Olivia Fuchs, Coordinator, Eco Dharma Network

Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading

Canon Giles Goddard, Chair, Faith for the Climate

Revd Dr Darrell D Hannah, Operation Noah

Rehena Harilall, Buddhists Across Traditions

Michael Hutchinson, Clerk, General Meeting for Scotland

Joseph Mishan, XR Buddhists

Melanie Nazareth, Christian Climate Action

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain

Kamran Shezad, Director, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Elizabeth Slade, Chief Officer, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Avnish Thakrar, National Coordinator, Hindu Climate Action

Deborah Tomkins, Co-Chair, Green Christian

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi, Masorti Judaism UK and co-founder, Eco Judaism

For more information about the Global Week of Action on insurance and the different events taking place in Colombia, Costa Rica, DRC, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, South Korea, Switzerland, UK, USA, and Uganda visit the Insure Our Future website: https://global.insure-our-future.com/global-week-of-action-2024/