More members quit NZIA
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2023
The UN-supported Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) is shrinking with more than half members leaving.
With more members withdrawing from the NZIA, concerns are growing towards the future of the initiative launched in 2019. According to various statements issued by some of the member companies and what was reported by media sources, over 40% of members have left the alliance.
Reuters reported at the end of last May that the number of members had shrunk to 17, from 30 in March, on the back of having three insurers leaving the initiative, including Tokio Marine, MS&AD Insurance Group and Spain-based Grupo Catalana Occidente.
A major reason for triggering the withdrawal wave was the exposure of (re)insurers to the risk of violating competition laws in the US as members of the Republican party attacked ESG for being anti-American and dangerous to capitalism, thereby drawing concerns over the legality of the NZIA.
In May, attorney generals of 23 US states have sent a letter to members of the NZIA, requesting documents and information relating to legal concerns brought about by their commitments to collaborate with other insurers in order to advance an activist climate agenda.
According to statements issued by a number of withdrawn members, their companies will continue efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainability goals on their own, despite their withdrawal from the initiative.
The NZIA was initiated and convened by the UN in association with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero, sponsored by the UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative . The NZIA was launched at the G20 Climate Summit in July 2021 with members required to commit to unilaterally and independently transitioning their respective (re)insurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. M