Leaders of some of the world’s biggest insurance companies including Lloyd’s of London, AIG, Swiss Re and Allianz, will find out if they have been naughty or nice when they receive a specially selected Christmas gift from the climate action group, Mothers Rise Up, today.
The CEO’s of six insurance companies – Lloyd’s of London and US insurers STARR, Liberty Mutual, Chubb, Travelers, and AIG – are on the naughty list and will receive Christmas socks emblazoned with their faces and a message to ‘Pull Your Socks Up.’ The companies continue to insure some of the most damaging fossil fuel projects including coal, tar sands and Arctic energy and have refused to rule out insuring new projects such as the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Mums and children will also deliver a hamper and a coal filled Christmas stocking to Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chair of Lloyd’s of London at its London HQ. Gifts for Carnegie-Brown, who is also Chair of Marylebone Cricket club, include a talking cricket ball which opens to reveal mini protesting cricketers and parents chanting ‘We’ve got the balls to take climate action Bruce – have you?’ and a clock engraved with the words ‘Bruce, time is running out for cricket and our children. Insure our Future!’ Lloyd’s – the oldest and most influential insurance market – has not ruled out insuring the Cumbrian coal mine and Lloyd’s syndicates are insuring fossil fuel expansion in the North Sea.
By contrast, leaders of five European insurers – Allianz, Munich Re and Hannover Re and Swiss Re – have made it onto the nice list and will receive Christmas socks sporting the message “Insuring our future!” and a giant hand crocheted bauble of planet Earth. The insurers have taken important steps towards restricting support for new coal, oil and gas fossil fuel projects, stopped insuring the dirtiest projects, and ruled out cover for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
"It’s all too clear who has been naughty and who has been nice this year. Insurers such as Munich Re and Swiss Re are starting to pull their support from new fossil fuel projects. Yet others, such as Lloyd’s, Starr and AIG, are continuing with business as usual regardless of the impact on communities around the globe and our children’s future.”
The East African Crude Oil pipeline will displace communities, devastate wildlife and enable the extraction of oil that will generate over 34 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. Emissions from the Cumbrian mine will produce an estimated 400,000 tonnes of emissions a year – equivalent to putting 200,000 cars on the road. Without insurance these projects could not go ahead. The International Energy Agency has warned there can be no new fossil fuel expansion if we are to keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5C.
"This is a bit of festive fun but it comes with a serious message. We need to keep all remaining fossil fuel reserves in the ground if we are to avoid a climate catastrophe. Insurance bosses such as Bruce Carnergie-Brown and John Neal at Lloyd’s know what they need to do to get off the naughty list: rule out insuring all new fossil fuel projects including the Cumbria coal mine and North Sea oil and gas fields and develop a plan to quickly phase down support for existing oil and gas."
