In the light of recent disasters linked to climate change activity, there is a growing emphasis on the necessity for organisations to encourage the change to a low-carbon economy. Now, according to Reuters, Aegon has said it will gradually reduce its holdings in companies which are generating revenue from coal-fired power plants or coal mining. This action has been taken to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Aegon has said it already excludes companies that derive more than 30% of sales from the exploration, mining, and refining of thermal coal and will scale back those investments further over the next 10 years.
In a statement the company said: “As of 2020, a declining revenue threshold has been introduced, which will be lowered in steps to 5% or below in 2029.”
The Dutch insurer, which had more than 300 billion in managed assets at the end of 2018, has said it will no longer invest in companies which own more than 10 gigawatts of coal-fired electricity generation capacity and have plans to extend their capacity. The insurer said it will also cease to invest in companies providing more than 20 million tonnes of thermal coal annually and which are expanding coal related business.
Aegon did not specify which of its investments would be impacted.
