In recent years, while international insurers are withdrawing from fossil fuel projects one after another, Japanese three major insurers, Tokio Marine, SOMPO and MS&AD, have been underwriting vast amounts of insurance for fossil fuel projects which exacerbate climate change, and their policies are not consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. As insurance underwriting by insurance companies is essential for project developers to build and operate fossil fuel extraction projects or power plants, it is necessary for insurance companies to set policies not to underwrite fossil fuel projects. JACSES is urging Japanese insurance companies to end their underwritings for fossil fuel projects in cooperation with an international NGO network: Insure Our Future.
Our Activities:
- October 28, 2024: Press release: Institutional investors conduct climate change engagement with SOMPO after being encouraged by environmental NGOs
- August 28, 2024: “Request to engage with SOMPO to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects” was submitted to SOMPO’s 50 shareholders
- June 24, 2024: Press Release “SOMPO: Stop Underwriting Rio Grande LNG”
- May 7, 2024: Fact Sheet on Rio Grande LNG project in the US (PDF) (SOMPO is involving in the project)
- October 31, 2023: Insure Our Future “Open letter demanding climate risk regulatory action from the International Association of Insurance Supervisors”
- October 2, 2023: Insure Our Future “Tokio Marine sets Intermediate Decarbonization Target in an Ambition and Impact Lacking Move”
- August 1, 2023: Joint statement: Three major Japanese non-life insurers left NZIA and failed to disclose the intermediate targets by deadline – NGOs urge insurers to set intermediate targets for emissions of the underwriting portfolio immediately! –
- June 29, 2023: Activists demand Tokio Marine rule out EACOP at annual shareholder meeting
- January 18, 2023: Request Letter to Engage with MS&AD to stop underwriting Fossil Fuel Projects
- October 19, 2022: 2022 Scorecard on Insurance, Fossil Fuels, and the Climate Emergency
- October 12, 2022: Blog: Tokio Marine’s latest climate policy falls short of global peers
- July 27, 2022: Request to Engage with Tokio Marine to Stop Underwriting Fossil Fuel Projects
- June 28, 2022: [Press Release] Sompo becomes first Asian insurer to rule out coal companies
- June 9, 2022: [Report] Exposed: The Coal Insurers of Last Resort
- May 27, 2022: [Press Release] Sompo takes insufficient step on coal but becomes first Japanese insurer to rule out new oil sands and Arctic energy exploration
- February 8, 2022: Request to engage with SOMPO to urge the company to stop underwriting fossil fuel projects
- January 20, 2022: [Press Release] Documents Reveal Chubb, MAPFRE & Tokio Marine Backing Massive Offshore Oil Expansion in Brazil
- September 30, 2021: Joint Statement: NGOs urge Tokio Marine to further strengthen its fossil fuel policy to achieve the goals of Paris Agreement
- July 14, 2021: Letter sent to 50 Financial Institutions, which are major shareholders of Tokio Marine, to urge the company to Completely Stop Underwriting Coal-fired Power Projects
- June 25, 2021: Joint Statement: Japanese Insurer MS&AD Completely Stops Underwriting Coal Power ~Tokio Marine and SOMPO’s responses are called into question~
- March 25, 2021: A campaign site “Tokio Marine Group Polluting the Planet” was launched jointly. Please also see the press release published by Insure Our Future.
- March 25, 2021: Press Release: NGOs call on 39 JICA Bond Underwriters and Bondholders to urge JICA to Stop Supporting Coal Projects in Bangladesh and Indonesia
- December 2, 2020: The 2020 Scorecard on Insurance, Fossil Fuels and Climate Change was published.
- September 30, 2020: Joint: MS&AD announces a New Coal Policy – Japan’s Three Major Non-life Insurers establishes Coal Policies, but they still need to be strengthened
- September 29, 2020: Joint Statement: Tokio Marine announces a New Coal Policy following SOMPO – But it’s still not aligned with the Paris Agreement
- September 23, 2020: Joint Statement: SOMPO announces a new coal policy, which is the first among Japan’s major non-life insurers ? but it’s still not aligned with the Paris Agreement
- September 8, 2020: Coal Policy Tool, which is the first online tool to assess coal policies of 214 financial institutions, was launched jointly.
- February 19, 2020: Briefing Paper “Physical Risks of Climate Change at Tokio Marine, MS&AD and SOMPO -Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Emergency Contingency Reserve Depletion Scenarios-” was published.
- February 18, 2020: Demand for 3 Japanese Non-Life Insurance Companies Not to Underwrite Vung Ang 2 Coal-fired Power Project in Vietnam (PDF) was submitted. (signed by 32 organizations from 16 countries)
- December 2, 2019: The 2019 Scorecard on Insurance Underwriting for Coal Projects was published.
- October 2, 2019：Posted a blog entry “Will we call Tokio Marine the Gold Partner for Coal-fired Power Generation at Tokyo 2020?”
- July 1, 2019：Issued a press release “The largest American private insurer announced withdrawal from insurance underwriting and investment and loan for the first time in the U.S.”
- December, 2018：Sent an open letter to major insurers with 73 organizations, calling on them to publicly commit to not insuring the Adani Carmichael coal mine and rail project in Australia. Results from insurers are posted on Market Forces.
Media Coverage (Japanese media coverages are available at Japanese site):
- October 31, 2023: Reinsurance News “Civil society groups demand climate risk regulatory action from the IAIS”
- June 28, 2022: Bright Green “First Asian insurer rules out insuring coal companies”
- June 28, 2022: Insurance Business “Sompo commits to pioneering coal policy“
- May 30, 2022: Insuranceday “Sompo criticised for coal policy loophole”
May 28, 2022: Insurance Business “Sompo updates coal policy” - September 30, 2021: InsuranceERM “Close remaining coal loopholes, climate activists tell Tokio Marine”
- June 28-29, 2021:
- Published in Asia Insurance Review. “First Japanese insurance company to adopt coal exit policy”
- Published in Insurance Edge. “Japan Now Has Just Two Coal Insurers Left”
- September 23-24, 2020:
- Published in Environmental Finance. “Sompo is first Japanese insurer to introduce restrictions on coal”
- Published in Insurance Business Asia. “Japanese insurers lagging behind on climate action, says eco group”
- Published in Insurance Asia News. “Sompo becomes first Japanese insurer to outline coal policy”
- December 13, 2019: Published in Toyo Keizai. “3 non-life insurers are facing the heavy anti-coal pressure”
- December 6, 2019: Published in Altena. “Evaluation of no coal policies of 30 largest insurers, Japanese insurers rank at the bottom”
- December 2, 2019: Published in Sustainable Japan. “Unfriend Coal published a ranking on coal policies of the world largest 30 insurance companies, Japanese 3 rank at the bottom”
- September 20, 2019：Published in Sustainable Japan. “Unfriend Coal called on All Blacks to stop sponsorship deal with AIG”
- December 29, 2018：Published in Sustainable Japan. “World’s major 10 insurers threw out to provide insuring the Adani Carmichael coal mine and rail project in Australia. NGO says”
- December 3, 2018：Published in Research Institute for Environmental Finance. “Divestment by insurers from coal industry has reached $6 trillion. Upsurge in reinsurer’s regulation of insurance underwriting. Europe is proactive but Japan and the U.S. aren’t, Unfriend Coal reports”
- December 3, 2018：Published in Sustainable Japan. “Unfriend Coal released 24 major insurers’ coal policy rankings. Tokio Marine and SOMPO ranked near the bottom.”
