Local residents bring message from global campaign calling on the insurance giant to stop underwriting fossil fuels
VIDEOS/PHOTOS HERE
Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Sierra Club Connecticut and the Insure Our Future Coalition rallied outside the Travelers Championship Tournament in Cromwell, chanting “Travelers underwrites climate change!”
Approximately 50 Connecticut-based climate activists marched alongside the TPC River Highlands golf course today, with banners and signs that called on Travelers Insurance to end their insurance coverage of the fossil fuel industry. The protestors were accompanied by Hartford’s Proud Drill Drum and Dance Corp, an organization that works to transform lives through art & entertainment.
Travelers Insurance is one of the top three insurers of the oil and gas industry and has adopted no formal policies to limit support for (non-tar sands) oil and gas projects or companies.
“Travelers is one of the largest oil and gas insurers in the world and has over $3.5 billion invested in fossil fuel companies. The Travelers must catch up with other leading insurers and make meaningful commitments to end underwriting and investing in climate-destroying fossil fuel projects and companies.”
“The voices and energy of the young people here today are a stark reminder that Travelers needs to act boldly and quickly and cease enabling further climate destruction. There is not time to lose and no justification for continued investment and insuring fossil fuels. Their chants said it best - Fossil fuels are really done. We call on Travelers to act now - for these youth and for all of us.”
Last month, Travelers faced an unprecedented challenge from investors with two climate resolutions on the ballot, one of which passed at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on May 25.
In contrast to Travelers’ policy, ten major insurers have policies restricting insurance for new oil and gas projects, and thirteen insurers have adopted restrictions on insuring oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For its lack of action regarding Arctic oil and gas, Travelers has come under increasing scrutiny from Indigenous leaders in the Arctic.
“Travelers continues to dismiss the voice of the Gwich’in people of the Arctic. By continuing to ignore our concerns, which are valid ones. We are asking them to protect the Arctic Refuge and address the decline of our homelands (eco-systems) because of climate change which we all obviously know is fueled by fossil fuels. They are contributing to the pain and stress our communities are experiencing.”
U.S. property and casualty insurers are lagging far behind their global peers when it comes to reducing emissions and curbing underwriting for fossil fuels, undermining global efforts by the insurance industry to tackle the climate crisis.
The U.S. industry is crucial to these efforts, as it makes up the largest share of oil and gas underwriting in the world and enables the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure that the climate cannot afford.
The rally represents the third year protesters have marched outside the golf tournament. It was organized by Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Sierra Club CT and the Insure Our Future Coalition. If you would like updates or to speak with representatives of the team participating in the action and meeting, contact Helen Humphreys: 860-202-3731, helendhumphreys@gmail.com.
The Connecticut Citizen Action Group, established in 1971, is dedicated to actively engaging the residents of CT in addressing consumer, environmental, economic and social justice issues. As a part of the Insure Our Future coalition, CCAG organizers have worked to hold CT-based insurance companies accountable for their role in the climate crisis, and call on them to divest their profits from the fossil fuel industry. Visit ccag.net.
Insure Our Future in the U.S. is a campaign comprised of environmental, consumer protection, and grassroots organizations holding the US insurance industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis. It is part of the global Insure Our Future campaign, which promotes a rapid shift of the insurance industry away from supporting and financing fossil fuels to accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy.
