Climate Activists Ask Insurers to Withhold Cover for Giant Australian LNG Project

Climate NGOs are calling on insurers to withhold coverage for a giant LNG project and hold firm to their net zero ambitions.

Reclaim Finance and other organizations have sent letters to global insurers, including AXA SA, Allianz SE and Swiss Re AG, asking them to stop providing insurance coverage for the expansion of the Ichthys LNG project in Australia, total emissions from which could reach 590 million tons of carbon dioxide, close to Australia’s annual CO2 output.

None of the insurers involved in the first phase of the project so far have a policy excluding LNG projects, according to Reclaim Finance. The International Energy Agency argues that a stop to new fossil fuel investment is necessary to keep global warming below 1.5 degree celsius.

Most insurers involved in the past in this project have “committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 following a 1.5°C pathway for their re/insurance portfolios,” Ariel Le Bourdonnec, insurance campaigner at Reclaim Finance, said in a statement. “If they want to meet their climate pledges, they cannot renew their support in such a gas expansion project like Ichthys LNG’s expansion or any other new oil and gas production project.”

Insurers and reinsurers stand to be among the biggest losers from climate change, as rising global temperatures exacerbate physical catastrophes from wildfire to flooding. Many of the biggest players in the industry have now committed to reach net-zero emissions from their underwriting portfolios by 2050.

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