Under the NZIA’s “Target-Setting Protocol” published in January, insurance members had until the end of July to publish emissions targets for 2030 using recommended types of targets and were then required to update on their progress annually
The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance has ditched all requirements for members to set or publish greenhouse gas emission-reduction targets, the United Nations said Wednesday, a major rewrite of its rules after U.S. political pressure led to a member exodus.
The NZIA is one of several U.N.-backed alliances that are supposed to coalesce financial institutions to drive efforts toward reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.But the group has come under pressure this year from some Republican politicians in the U.S., who accuse it of violating antitrust rules and pushing up insurance costs.
More than half of NZIA’s members, fearing a regulatory and litigation blowback, have quit since attorneys general from 23 Republican-led U.S. states in May sent a letter threatening legal action.
“Going forward, NZIA member companies have no obligation to set or publish targets: rather, individual member companies will be responsible and publicly accountable for any targets they set, the methodologies used to set them, the timeline on which they decide to publish any targets, and the progress they are making,” the U.N. Environment Program said in a statement.
NZIA is down to 12 members from a peak of 30 after major companies such as Axa, Allianz and Tokio Marine quit.
Under the NZIA’s “Target-Setting Protocol” published in January, insurance members had until the end of July to publish emissions targets for 2030 using recommended types of targets and were then required to update on their progress annually.
Insurers inside and outside the group say they remain committed to reaching net zero by 2050 and will independently publish emissions targets with updates on their progress.
French company Axa last week published its first emission-reduction goals for its insurance portfolio.