Chief executives at several major insurance companies have once again been singled out by environmental and Indigenous organizations for their ongoing support of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
On Friday (September 03), Canada’s National Observer shared the contents of an open letter directed at the CEOs of AIG, Chubb, Energy Insurance Limited, Liberty Mutual, and Lloyd's of London syndicates, among others, which urged the insurance leaders to rule out insurance for the Trans Mountain Expansion project.
“This limited window for action will close rapidly if we allow expansion of the dirtiest forms of fossil fuels, such as the bitumen that would be carried by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project from Alberta to Vancouver, BC, to proceed,” the letter reads. “This expansion would unleash up to 590,000 barrels per day of tar sands bitumen onto the world market, resulting in the addition of up to 152 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually.”
Insurers have been under pressure for some time to cut ties with Trans Mountain. So far, more than 10 insurers have rejected the controversial tar sands pipeline - including Zurich, Talanx, Munich Re and Argo Group – but the insurers targeted in the most recent open letter from protesters are yet to withdraw their support.
According to the National Observer, the letter - penned by nearly two-dozen environmental and Indigenous groups - accuses the insurers of “recklessly pursuing profit while ignoring impacts to people and the planet.”
The protestors added that until the big-name insurers stop insuring projects that expand the oilsands sector and require its clients to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from impacted communities, “we will continue spotlighting your failure to publicly disclaim involvement with the Trans Mountain pipeline network and targeting your company for refusing to cut ties with this pipeline, rule out all tar sands expansion, and respect Indigenous rights.”
Both Liberty and AIG declined comment. Chubb and Lloyd's of London did not return requests for comment by the National Observer’s deadline.
