Axa to sever ties with RWE over coal, carbon footprint concerns – Bloomberg

Axa SA intends to drop RWE AG as a client over concerns related to the energy giant's coal operations and its slow-moving measures to shrink its carbon footprint, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The French insurer plans to sever all its ties with RWE by the end of 2022 and allegedly refused to insure even its renewable projects.

RWE is one of Europe's biggest coal mine operators as well as one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, according to the report. The company has committed to becoming a carbon-neutral company by 2040, with climate targets that a group of climate scientists confirmed were in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

RWE's company filings showed that it had extracted 65 million tons of coal in 2020. The energy giant's installed coal capacity, which accounted for 25% of its total power capacity, surpassed 10 GW in 2020.

Axa, which became the first insurer to impose coal-related underwriting restrictions, stopped providing insurance for coal mines and plants at the end of 2020 following the expiration of a two-year grace period. The insurer's coal policy prohibits it from providing insurance to companies that produce more than 20 million tons of coal per year.