How UK students can pressure insurers to stop fuelling the climate crisis

Students in the UK can use their power to pressure insurers to end their support for dangerous fossil fuel projects and avert the worst of the climate crisis.

The UK is a global centre for insurance; home to Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest and largest global insurance market with members operating in 200 countries.

And while many insurers are moving away from fossil fuels, Lloyd’s of London is lagging behind as it continues to underwrite new oil & gas projects.

Taken as a whole, Lloyd’s is the world’s largest insurer of fossil fuels, covering an estimated 9% of the global fossil fuel sector, and is the 6th largest global reinsurer. 

But we know insurers can be moved. They have an ageing workforce and an ongoing recruitment crisis. Students can have huge influence to push insurers to adopt stronger climate action.

Read more about Lloyd’s of London here

Sign up to be part of our campaign here:

Lloyd’s Hall of Shame

Many of the world’s biggest and most destructive fossil fuel projects are insured through Lloyd’s of London.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
Insurance certificates uncovered by Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network found that at least 20 syndicates of Lloyd’s of London are named in the certificates, across several projects.

Impacts

  • There are seven terminals under construction, and an additional 17 terminals proposed. With existing exports and new ones coming online, the U.S. is poised to almost double exports by 2028. 
  • The climate impacts of the operating methane export terminals and those under construction would emit annual emissions equivalent to releasing 1,287 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gases into the air, similar to adding 345 coal plants to the power grid.
  • Many of these operational and proposed terminals are in Indigenous, Black, brown, and economically disadvantaged communities, perpetuating a longstanding legacy of environmental racism in the Gulf Coast.
  • Communities within a 3 miles radius of the proposed methane terminals are exposed to more fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, on an annual basis than over 80% of people in the United States.
  • These small pollutant particles travel deep within the lungs and enter the bloodstream, presenting a high risk for severe health impacts such as asthma, heart disease, lung inflammation, and premature death.

Read more about the insurers and the impacts of the LNG projects in this report.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

A huge build-up of Liquefied “Natural” Gas (LNG) terminals across the U.S. Gulf South.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

 

Impacts

  • This project has displaced roughly 118,000 people, primarily farming communities, resulting in the loss of culture and traditions due to relocation.
  • Increasing arrest, improsionment, violence and human rights violations against community members and human rights activists questioning or opposing the project.
  • Estimated to generate over 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year – more than double the current emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined.
  • The pipeline will pass next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, that more than 40 million people depend on for water a food production.

Visit the #StopEACOP website for more.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

This project in Uganda and Tanzania would be the world’s longest heated pipeline if built.

Ichthys LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
The first construction phase of the project was insured between 2012 and 2017 by several insurers including five Lloyd’s of London syndicates: AM Trust, Beazley, Canopius, Navigators Underwriting Agency and Talbot.

Impacts

  • Ichthys LNG is known as one of the biggest gas projects on Earth, with more than 14 trillion cubic feet (ft 3) of gas available to be transformed into liquefied natural gas (LNG).
  • The project started its LNG production in 2018 with a second phase expected to produce by 2025. Inpex and TotalEnergies are already preparing a third expansion phase named 2C. Under this phase, more than a dozen new wells could be drilled to extract gas until 2061.
  • The expansion could increase Ichthys LNG’s total emissions to 590 MtCO2, close to the whole of Australia’s current annual CO2 emissions.
  • Biodiversity is also at risk in the particularly sensitive area of the Timor Sea where Ichthys LNG operates.

Read more about the insurers in this project in this report.

Ichthys LNG

Located off the north-west coast of Australia, Ichthys is one of the world’s largest oil and gas projects.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

Impacts

  • West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049.
  • The mine is intended to produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking, yet the IEA and other experts agree that phasing out the use of coal should be a priority to decarbonize the steel sector.
  • West Cumbria Mining Limited is surrounded by a complex set of financial vehicles but is ultimately held by EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, based in the Cayman Islands – a tax haven.

Read more about the mine and the campaign against it on the Coal Action Network website.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

The first new deep coal mine to be approved in the UK in 30 years.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
Insurance certificates uncovered by Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network found that at least 20 syndicates of Lloyd’s of London are named in the certificates, across several projects.

Impacts

  • There are seven terminals under construction, and an additional 17 terminals proposed. With existing exports and new ones coming online, the U.S. is poised to almost double exports by 2028. 
  • The climate impacts of the operating methane export terminals and those under construction would emit annual emissions equivalent to releasing 1,287 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gases into the air, similar to adding 345 coal plants to the power grid.
  • Many of these operational and proposed terminals are in Indigenous, Black, brown, and economically disadvantaged communities, perpetuating a longstanding legacy of environmental racism in the Gulf Coast.
  • Communities within a 3 miles radius of the proposed methane terminals are exposed to more fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, on an annual basis than over 80% of people in the United States.
  • These small pollutant particles travel deep within the lungs and enter the bloodstream, presenting a high risk for severe health impacts such as asthma, heart disease, lung inflammation, and premature death.

Read more about the insurers and the impacts of the LNG projects in this report.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

A huge build-up of Liquefied “Natural” Gas (LNG) terminals across the U.S. Gulf South.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

 

Impacts

  • This project has displaced roughly 118,000 people, primarily farming communities, resulting in the loss of culture and traditions due to relocation.
  • Increasing arrest, improsionment, violence and human rights violations against community members and human rights activists questioning or opposing the project.
  • Estimated to generate over 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year – more than double the current emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined.
  • The pipeline will pass next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, that more than 40 million people depend on for water a food production.

Visit the #StopEACOP website for more.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

This project in Uganda and Tanzania would be the world’s longest heated pipeline if built.

Ichthys LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
The first construction phase of the project was insured between 2012 and 2017 by several insurers including five Lloyd’s of London syndicates: AM Trust, Beazley, Canopius, Navigators Underwriting Agency and Talbot.

Impacts

  • Ichthys LNG is known as one of the biggest gas projects on Earth, with more than 14 trillion cubic feet (ft 3) of gas available to be transformed into liquefied natural gas (LNG).
  • The project started its LNG production in 2018 with a second phase expected to produce by 2025. Inpex and TotalEnergies are already preparing a third expansion phase named 2C. Under this phase, more than a dozen new wells could be drilled to extract gas until 2061.
  • The expansion could increase Ichthys LNG’s total emissions to 590 MtCO2, close to the whole of Australia’s current annual CO2 emissions.
  • Biodiversity is also at risk in the particularly sensitive area of the Timor Sea where Ichthys LNG operates.

Read more about the insurers in this project in this report.

Ichthys LNG

Located off the north-west coast of Australia, Ichthys is one of the world’s largest oil and gas projects.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

Impacts

  • West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049.
  • The mine is intended to produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking, yet the IEA and other experts agree that phasing out the use of coal should be a priority to decarbonize the steel sector.
  • West Cumbria Mining Limited is surrounded by a complex set of financial vehicles but is ultimately held by EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, based in the Cayman Islands – a tax haven.

Read more about the mine and the campaign against it on the Coal Action Network website.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

The first new deep coal mine to be approved in the UK in 30 years.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
Insurance certificates uncovered by Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network found that at least 20 syndicates of Lloyd’s of London are named in the certificates, across several projects.

Impacts

  • There are seven terminals under construction, and an additional 17 terminals proposed. With existing exports and new ones coming online, the U.S. is poised to almost double exports by 2028. 
  • The climate impacts of the operating methane export terminals and those under construction would emit annual emissions equivalent to releasing 1,287 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gases into the air, similar to adding 345 coal plants to the power grid.
  • Many of these operational and proposed terminals are in Indigenous, Black, brown, and economically disadvantaged communities, perpetuating a longstanding legacy of environmental racism in the Gulf Coast.
  • Communities within a 3 miles radius of the proposed methane terminals are exposed to more fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, on an annual basis than over 80% of people in the United States.
  • These small pollutant particles travel deep within the lungs and enter the bloodstream, presenting a high risk for severe health impacts such as asthma, heart disease, lung inflammation, and premature death.

Read more about the insurers and the impacts of the LNG projects in this report.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

A huge build-up of Liquefied “Natural” Gas (LNG) terminals across the U.S. Gulf South.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

 

Impacts

  • This project has displaced roughly 118,000 people, primarily farming communities, resulting in the loss of culture and traditions due to relocation.
  • Increasing arrest, improsionment, violence and human rights violations against community members and human rights activists questioning or opposing the project.
  • Estimated to generate over 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year – more than double the current emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined.
  • The pipeline will pass next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, that more than 40 million people depend on for water a food production.

Visit the #StopEACOP website for more.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

This project in Uganda and Tanzania would be the world’s longest heated pipeline if built.

Ichthys LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
The first construction phase of the project was insured between 2012 and 2017 by several insurers including five Lloyd’s of London syndicates: AM Trust, Beazley, Canopius, Navigators Underwriting Agency and Talbot.

Impacts

  • Ichthys LNG is known as one of the biggest gas projects on Earth, with more than 14 trillion cubic feet (ft 3) of gas available to be transformed into liquefied natural gas (LNG).
  • The project started its LNG production in 2018 with a second phase expected to produce by 2025. Inpex and TotalEnergies are already preparing a third expansion phase named 2C. Under this phase, more than a dozen new wells could be drilled to extract gas until 2061.
  • The expansion could increase Ichthys LNG’s total emissions to 590 MtCO2, close to the whole of Australia’s current annual CO2 emissions.
  • Biodiversity is also at risk in the particularly sensitive area of the Timor Sea where Ichthys LNG operates.

Read more about the insurers in this project in this report.

Ichthys LNG

Located off the north-west coast of Australia, Ichthys is one of the world’s largest oil and gas projects.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

Impacts

  • West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049.
  • The mine is intended to produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking, yet the IEA and other experts agree that phasing out the use of coal should be a priority to decarbonize the steel sector.
  • West Cumbria Mining Limited is surrounded by a complex set of financial vehicles but is ultimately held by EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, based in the Cayman Islands – a tax haven.

Read more about the mine and the campaign against it on the Coal Action Network website.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

The first new deep coal mine to be approved in the UK in 30 years.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
Insurance certificates uncovered by Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network found that at least 20 syndicates of Lloyd’s of London are named in the certificates, across several projects.

Impacts

  • There are seven terminals under construction, and an additional 17 terminals proposed. With existing exports and new ones coming online, the U.S. is poised to almost double exports by 2028. 
  • The climate impacts of the operating methane export terminals and those under construction would emit annual emissions equivalent to releasing 1,287 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gases into the air, similar to adding 345 coal plants to the power grid.
  • Many of these operational and proposed terminals are in Indigenous, Black, brown, and economically disadvantaged communities, perpetuating a longstanding legacy of environmental racism in the Gulf Coast.
  • Communities within a 3 miles radius of the proposed methane terminals are exposed to more fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, on an annual basis than over 80% of people in the United States.
  • These small pollutant particles travel deep within the lungs and enter the bloodstream, presenting a high risk for severe health impacts such as asthma, heart disease, lung inflammation, and premature death.

Read more about the insurers and the impacts of the LNG projects in this report.

U.S. Gulf Coast LNG

A huge build-up of Liquefied “Natural” Gas (LNG) terminals across the U.S. Gulf South.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

 

Impacts

  • This project has displaced roughly 118,000 people, primarily farming communities, resulting in the loss of culture and traditions due to relocation.
  • Increasing arrest, improsionment, violence and human rights violations against community members and human rights activists questioning or opposing the project.
  • Estimated to generate over 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year – more than double the current emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined.
  • The pipeline will pass next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, that more than 40 million people depend on for water a food production.

Visit the #StopEACOP website for more.

East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

This project in Uganda and Tanzania would be the world’s longest heated pipeline if built.

Ichthys LNG

Role of Lloyd’s
The first construction phase of the project was insured between 2012 and 2017 by several insurers including five Lloyd’s of London syndicates: AM Trust, Beazley, Canopius, Navigators Underwriting Agency and Talbot.

Impacts

  • Ichthys LNG is known as one of the biggest gas projects on Earth, with more than 14 trillion cubic feet (ft 3) of gas available to be transformed into liquefied natural gas (LNG).
  • The project started its LNG production in 2018 with a second phase expected to produce by 2025. Inpex and TotalEnergies are already preparing a third expansion phase named 2C. Under this phase, more than a dozen new wells could be drilled to extract gas until 2061.
  • The expansion could increase Ichthys LNG’s total emissions to 590 MtCO2, close to the whole of Australia’s current annual CO2 emissions.
  • Biodiversity is also at risk in the particularly sensitive area of the Timor Sea where Ichthys LNG operates.

Read more about the insurers in this project in this report.

Ichthys LNG

Located off the north-west coast of Australia, Ichthys is one of the world’s largest oil and gas projects.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

Role of Lloyd’s
As the world’s biggest insurer of fossil fuels, insurers in the Lloyd’s market are very likely to have been approached for insurance. Many Lloyd’s syndicates have yet to rule out the project.

Impacts

  • West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049.
  • The mine is intended to produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking, yet the IEA and other experts agree that phasing out the use of coal should be a priority to decarbonize the steel sector.
  • West Cumbria Mining Limited is surrounded by a complex set of financial vehicles but is ultimately held by EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, based in the Cayman Islands – a tax haven.

Read more about the mine and the campaign against it on the Coal Action Network website.

West Cumbria Coal Mine

The first new deep coal mine to be approved in the UK in 30 years.