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Jänschwalde lignite power plant in Brandenburg: more difficult and expensive to get insurance
Photo: Patrick Pleul / dpa
According to a study by environmental protection organizations, more and more insurers are withdrawing from the coal business.
It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult for mines and other companies in the coal industry to obtain insurance.
Corresponding covers are becoming more expensive.
23 of the world's 30 largest insurers have either terminated or restricted their coal business in the past three years, reported "Insure our Future", an amalgamation of climate and environmental initiatives from the USA, several European countries and several other nations.
That was six more insurers than a year ago.
The climate protection activists called on the industry to get out of the oil and gas business. According to the information, the insurance industry has so far imposed far fewer voluntary commitments in this area.
Greenpeace activist Asti Roesle said, according to the Swiss "Handelszeitung", that a lot still needs to be done to achieve a transition in the oil and gas sector.
"Zurich, in particular, is now in great demand as one of the three largest insurance companies in the global oil and gas market."
Coal stocks as a bad investment
As far as coal is concerned, many companies are also withdrawing their capital investments from coal investments, according to the "Insure our Future" report, which has now been published for the fourth time.
According to this, a total of 65 insurance companies with a portfolio totaling twelve trillion dollars have pledged not to invest any more money in the coal industry or to reduce their existing investments.
However, according to the study, the active commitment to climate protection is largely limited to European and Australian insurers.
According to the study, major insurance companies in the USA and East Asia as well as the British insurance exchange Lloyd's impose fewer restrictions on themselves.
The authors evaluated both publicly available information and the answers from 20 insurance companies that answered the questionnaire from climate protectionists.
The German member of "Insure our Future" is the Urgewald initiative, which many managers and shareholders know from their appearances at annual general meetings.
The organization also publishes an international climate ranking for insurance companies every year.
The French Axa is in first place, the best German company is Hannover Re in third place, followed by Munich Re (5th), HDI (9th) and Allianz (11th).
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