Swiss Re is to begin implementing its thermal coal policy first announced in June 2017, no longer providing re/insurance to businesses with more than 30% exposure to thermal coal across all lines of business.
The move further expands Swiss Re’s divestment from the energy source, having stopped investing in companies that generate 30% or more of their revenues from thermal coal mining or that use at least 30% thermal coal for power generation, in 2016.
Swiss Re Group’s Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO), Edi Schmid, considered this “a major step forward in ensuring that our business activities are aligned with the Paris Agreement and related national efforts.”
Swiss Re committed to The Paris Pledge for Action, and its goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C – 2°C above pre-industrial levels, in 2015.
“The implementation of the coal policy is. We are working with our clients to find the best solutions that enable them to adapt to a low-carbon economy,“ added Schmid.
The group-wide thermal coal policy applies to both existing and new thermal coal mines and power plants, and is implemented across all lines of business and Swiss Re’s global scope of operations.
This most recent restriction from Swiss Re joins Hannover Re’s recent pledge to divest from companies dependent on coal for more than 25% of its revenue, in an industry-wide shift away from fossil fuel.
Patrick Raaflaub, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO), commented, “It has been our goal to develop a comprehensive approach to coal underwriting. This has been a complex task and I am very pleased that we are now in a position to start rolling out our thermal coal policy.”
