Wednesday 26 April 2023

‘Stop financing new gas fields,’ AXA told

French insurance company AXA has been told to stop giving insurance to new gas fields and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

Reclaim Finance and community activist John Beard from Texas have written a letter to Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA, calling on the company to change its stance on fossil fuels.

It cites AXA’s position as a founding member of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance as a reason for the firm to support the decision and make good on its climate outlook.

The letter stresses that competitors such as Allianz and Aviva have pledged to stop covering oil and gas fields and that AXA should do the same.

John Beard is Chief Executive of the Port Arthur Community Action Network – representing a community that lives close to an LNG project – and is demanding a right to clean air, water and soil for everyone.

He claims that providing insurance to these projects damages the health of communities.

The letter alleges that AXA IM, the business’ investment subsidiary, currently has $1.1 billion (£881m) of exposure to companies developing oil and gas projects.

AXA said it would not comment on the letter but will respond to questions posed by Reclaim Finance shortly.