(Reuters) — Axa on Thursday set targets to limit greenhouse gas emissions linked to the cars and companies it covers, but an activist group said the French company’s first environmental targets for its insurance portfolio did not go far enough.
Europe’s second largest insurer said it would aim for a 20% reduction in the carbon intensity of its largest individual motor insurance portfolios between 2019 and 2030 and a 30% reduction in the absolute carbon emissions of its largest corporate customers between 2021 and 2030.
“This is absolutely crucial and represents a genuine transformation of our insurance business,” said Frederic de Courtois, Axa’s vice president in charge of finance.
Carbon intensity is a measure of emissions linked to a company̵7;s production, while absolute emissions refer to the total amount of emissions emitted.
Axa, which operates in 51 countries, also more than doubled its green target for its investment bank. It said it wants to cut absolute emissions linked to assets in its general fund by 50% between 2019 and 2030, down from a previous target of 20%.
“The announcement … is a welcome first step, but it will not be enough to meet (Axa’s) commitment to reach net zero by 2050,” Ariel le Bourdonnec of the advocacy group Reclaim Finance told Reuters by email.
Mr Le Bourdonnec said Axa should not insure new gas fields or LNG terminals and stop renewing contracts for clients building new oil and gas production and transport projects from 2024.
A restriction on underwriting customers developing new coal capacity or with significant involvement in the coal industry should also be extended to reinsurance contracts from Axa XL, Axa’s main reinsurance business, Le Bourdonnec added.
Credit Agricole aims to reduce absolute emissions from investment banking assets by 25% but has not set a timeframe. In terms of insurance, the Axa competitor has said it will set up teams focused on “low-emission claims.”