(Reuters) — The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance has waived all requirements for members to set or publish targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations said on Wednesday, a major rewrite of its rules after U.S. political pressure led to a membership exodus .
NZIA is one of several UN-backed alliances meant to bring together financial institutions to drive efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But the group has come under pressure this year from some Republican politicians in the US, who accuse it of violating antitrust rules and driving up insurance costs. More than half of NZIA’s members, fearing a regulatory and legal blowback, have quit since attorneys general from 23 Republican-led US states sent a letter threatening legal action in May.
“Going forward, NZIA member companies will have no obligation to set or publish targets: instead, individual member companies will be responsible and publicly accountable for any targets they set, the methods used to set them, the timeline on which they decide to publish any goals. , and the progress they are making,”
; the UN Environment Program said in a statement.NZIA is down to 12 members from a peak of 30 after major companies such as Axa, Allianz and Tokio Marine quit.
Under the NZIA’s “Target-Setting Protocol” published in January, insurer members had until the end of July to publish emissions targets for 2030 using recommended types of targets and then had to update on their progress annually.
Insurers inside and outside the group say they remain committed to reaching net zero by 2050 and will publish emissions targets on their own with updates on their progress.
The French company Axa published last week its first emission reduction targets for its insurance portfolio.
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