Every day, I measure the impacts of climate change on our policyholders. The frequency of climate disasters has increased five-fold over the last 50 years and the cost of related damages has skyrocketed (to $100 billion in 2015). The time for debate is over. Without resolute and immediate action, we will not be able to contain the global rise in temperature to below 2° C above pre-industrial levels, as enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
As the CEO of one of the largest insurers and asset managers in the world, but also as a father, I take this responsibility seriously. Like my predecessors, I believe that AXA must be a leader in the fight against global warming. This is why the Group has decided to step up its efforts to fight climate change by presenting ambitious measures on December 12th at the One Planet Summit in Paris(#OnePlanetSummit).
I am pleased that French President Emmanuel Macron has invited AXA to join the event, alongside important personalities who are committed to this issue, like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg. The fight against global warming requires the commitment of everyone. The One Planet Summit is the right time and place for us to pursue our commitment to deal with the greatest challenge of the 21st century.
We can act now
Climate change is not inevitable. The workings of the global economy and our way of life play a key role in accelerating global warming. We can take action, in particular by cutting the production and consumption of the non-renewable energies responsible for global warming, starting with coal.
After becoming an industry pioneer in 2015 by moving to gradually exit the coal industry, AXA is ramping up its efforts and will divest an additional amount of > €3 billion invested in carbon-intensive energy producers (coal and tar sands). Moreover, AXA will no longer insure any projects that involve coal-fired power plants, the extraction of oil from oil sands, or associated pipelines.
In addition, from an initial target of 3 billion euros, we will quadruple our green investments to 12 billion euros in 2020, which is double the recent recommendation made by Christiana Figueres, the COP21’s chief climate negotiator (see details of all our measures), whose actions I applaud.
The fight against global warming requires the commitment of everyone, working together. We can do this through collaboration and partnerships, but also by setting the example. With the measures we have just taken, we are sending a strong message: the fight against global warming is certainly complex but we can take committed action. Everyone, at every level, can act.
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