Three founding members of the Global Zero Carbon Insurers Alliance (NZIA), the reinsurer Scor and the giants Axa and Allianz, announced their departure on Thursday, May 25, as pressure from the United States waned. is increased.
Axa” will continue its individual journey in terms of sustainable development, as an insurer, investor and responsible company “, specifies the first French insurer in a press release, while Allianz indicated to keep its climate objectives ” unchanged “.
Earlier in the day, Thierry Léger, CEO of Scor since May 1, also announced the departure of the alliance before the shareholders gathered at a general meeting. ” We have now decided to leave NZIA. This does not change our commitments or our roadmap. when it comes to fighting global warming, he said.
Legal risk
Scor is the first French to slam the door of the alliance, created in July 2021 and placed under the aegis of the UN, and the second these days after Swiss Re. Three other European heavyweights had preceded them in recent years. months by announcing their departure: Munich Re, Hannover Re and the insurer Zurich. In the wake of these new defections, the French Matmut also announced his departure.
None of them detailed the reasons for their departure, but at the end of March, Munich Re had mentioned the risks of impeding free competition inherent in this type of alliance. ” Every company is free to join or withdraw from the NZIA at any time and for any reason. “, underlined Wednesday the NZIA in a press release recording the departure of some of its members, “ especially those with significant business and exposure to the United States “.
A week ago, about 20 Republican state attorneys in the United States sent a letter of criticism to the alliance, accusing them of violating American competition laws, defending activist positions on the climate and contributing to inflation. For the largest members, present in the United States, remaining in the alliance therefore involves a legal risk, with years of procedures.
Maintaining commitments
With around thirty members until recently, the NZIA was founded by Axa, Allianz, Aviva, Generali, Scor, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group. Its members, including the French Matmut and Crédit Agricole Assurances, have agreed to set criteria for the acceptability of the most emitting industries in their customer portfolios in line with the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050.
However, the resigning members of the alliance insisted on the continuity of their commitments in favor of the climate. The leaders of Scor thus recalled during the general meeting the importance of the measures they had taken in the past to fight against global warming, some of which were reinforced on Thursday. ” If development is not sustainable (…) the prices of insurance will increase, the ability to pay premiums will decrease and in some areas there will be no insurance “, warned the emblematic president of the group Denis Kessler.
More concretely, Thierry Léger mentioned “ new exclusions on oil, gas, particularly in the Arctic, on tar sands and on thermal coal “, implemented from September 1, 2023. Scor, for example, extends its exclusion commitment to new gas fields after taking a similar decision last year on oil projects. Exceptions may be granted if the client presents a ” strategy verified and aligned with a credible Net Zero transition plan “, nevertheless specifies the reinsurer.
(With AFP)