Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future recommendations to the insurance industry

The Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future campaign calls on the insurance industry to leverage the economic disruptions of COVID-19 to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. The authors argue that while progress has been made in restricting coal insurance, insurers must now expand these restrictions to oil and gas to meet Paris Agreement targets. The letter outlines five specific demands, including an immediate end to insuring new coal, oil, and gas projects and the divestment of assets from companies not aligned with a 1.5ºC pathway.

• Progress has been made in the insurance industry's shift away from coal, with 19 leading companies ending or limiting cover for coal projects and twice as many divesting from the sector. As of 2018, carriers with coal restrictions on underwriting represented 47.6% of non-life reinsurance premiums and 13.6% of direct non-life insurance premiums.
• The campaign argues that coal restrictions alone are insufficient because coal combustion accounted for 40.3% of global CO2 emissions in 2018, while oil and gas combustion accounted for 55.6%. To limit warming to 1.5°C, the IPCC indicates that gas consumption must decrease by 25% by 2030 and 74% by 2050, and oil consumption by 37% by 2030 and 87% by 2050, assuming no reliance on unproven carbon capture and storage.
• The authors present five specific recommendations for insurers: immediately stop insuring new coal projects and companies (unless transitioning to clean energy within two years), stop insuring new oil and gas expansion projects, phase out insurance for oil and gas companies according to a 1.5ºC pathway, divest from non-compliant fossil fuel companies, and align stewardship and public positions with a 1.5ºC pathway.

APA

Reclaim Finance (2020). Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future recommendations to the insurance industry. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Unfriend-Coal-annual-insurance-letter.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future recommendations to the insurance industry. 2020. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Unfriend-Coal-annual-insurance-letter.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Reclaim Finance |title=Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future recommendations to the insurance industry |date=28 May 2020 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Unfriend-Coal-annual-insurance-letter.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{reclaimfinance2020unfriend, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{Unfriend Coal/Insure Our Future recommendations to the insurance industry}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Unfriend-Coal-annual-insurance-letter.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }