The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) has released its first Target-Setting Protocol at the World Economic Forum, accelerating the transition to a global net-zero economy.
Launched at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, version 1.0 of the NZIA Target-Setting Protocol will enable NZIA members to independently set science-based, intermediate targets for their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios, aligned with a net-zero transition pathway consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. It requires the members to set and disclose their initial targets by July 31, 2023.
“The launch of the protocol signals the move from commitment to implementation. Now is the time for insurers to set ambitious and credible science-based decarbonisation targets for their respective insurance portfolios and support a just transition to a net-zero emissions economy to avert climate catastrophe and ensure a sustainable future,” Renaud Guidée, NZIA chair and group chief risk officer (CRO) at AXA, said in a statement.
The NZIA, convened by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative, is a group of leading insurers representing over 15% of world premium volume globally. The members have committed to transitioning their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.
Peter Bosshard, global coordinator of Insure Our Future – a global campaign of NGOs and social movements that hold insurers accountable for their role in the climate crisis – said the protocol is “devoid of any ambition and will not align insurance underwriting with a 1.5°C pathway.”
“It offers a fig leaf for business as usual and opens the door for corporate greenwashing. Insurance companies should go beyond this low-ambition protocol and follow the science when they set their decarbonisation targets,” Bosshard said.
According to Insure Our Future, version 1.0 of the NZIA Target-Setting Protocol has the following gaps and loopholes:
What do you think of NZIA’s first Target-Setting Protocol? Do you think it is a major step towards achieving a global net-zero economy, or does it need more ambition? Let us know in the comments section.