Today, Green Century Capital Management announced that it filed shareholder resolutions with Chubb, The Hartford, and Travelers, calling on the companies to phase out underwriting of new fossil fuel projects. Members of the Insure Our Future coalition responded:
“The Hartford, Chubb and Travelers owe it to their shareholders and policyholders to support Green Century’s resolution to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects. The risks to insurers from climate change are increasing every year and the shift to renewable energy makes long term fossil fuel projects financially untenable. Unfortunately companies like Chubb, The Hartford, and Travelers are enabling these risky expansion projects and utterly failing to incentivize insureds to transition to a clean energy economy. In either case, they are abusing their trusted role as so-called risk experts and failing to live up to their fiduciary responsibility."
“Green Century’s filings demonstrate that shareholders are concerned about the material risks that climate change poses to the insurance industry, as well as the risks posed by insurers’ unchecked support for new oil and gas projects. Some Republican state officials are attempting to turn financial institutions’ responsible efforts to mitigate risk into a culture war issue, but investors know that climate risk cannot be ignored, especially within the insurance sector. In the midst of mounting losses from Hurricane Ian and other climate disasters, shareholders are sending a clear message to Chubb, The Hartford, and Travelers: phase out support for fossil fuel expansion and underwrite a clean energy future.”
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Insure Our Future U.S. is a campaign of environmental, consumer protection, and grassroots organizations holding the U.S. insurance industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis. We are part of the global Insure Our Future campaign, which promotes a rapid shift of the insurance industry away from fossil fuels to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.
