The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has today announced the creation of the Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero (FIT) to support the insurance sector's voluntary actions on climate change.
At the same time, UNEP has discontinued the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), which suffered an exodus of most of its members in spring 2023 due to antitrust risks.
InsuranceERM has previously reported on UN efforts to build on the work of the NZIA and form a broader group of stakeholders.
Today's announcement from UNEP is the culmination of this work, as the UN uniquely leads and convenes the forum designed to support the "necessary acceleration" and scaling up of voluntary climate action by the insurance industry.
"The creation of the Forum is a major new opportunity for UNEP, the insurance industry and key stakeholders, and it takes into account the experience gained with the NZIA that first transformed net-zero insurance from theory to practice," UNEP said.
The forum's members are currently made up of 46 organisations and individuals, including 19 re/insurers, 16 regulatory and supervisory authorities and 11 academic institutions and civil society organisations. It has global representation from Europe, Africa, Asia, the US and Australia.
In addition, the FIT has engaged a legal team comprised of experts in areas including antitrust and competition laws, sustainability, insurance and finance.
A full list of members can be found below.
UNEP explained the initial priorities for FIT are advancing frameworks for net-zero insurance metrics and voluntary targets, developing a net-zero transition plan framework for firms and to engage with the real economy, as well as tackling challenges and opportunities to develop insurance solutions and taxonomies.
Butch Bacani will chair FIT in addition to his role as the leader of the UN's Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI).
He told InsuranceERM that he viewed the transition from the NZIA to the FIT as a positive, arguing the shift signifies the end of insurers acting solely as "self-regulators", to engaging in a dialogue with net-zero standard setters and the authorities responsible for implementing regulations.
Bacani also underscored the role the FIT will assume in crafting insurance-specific transition plans. These plans feeds into various critical net-zero objectives, including the development of target and metric methodologies, he said.
As yet, none of the NZIA founding members who initially departed last year (Munich Re, Zurich, Swiss Re, Scor, Axa and Allianz) have returned to the FIT.
Nevertheless, Bucani stressed: "The FIT is open to the entire global insurance industry," noting the total member count of the FIT is five times greater than that of NZIA when it was initially formed.
Olivia Brindle, head of sustainability at founding member Fidelis, told InsuranceERM: "We believe that broad engagement with a range of stakeholders will be critical to driving industry progress on transition topics – connecting insurance carriers with regulators, standard-setters, and civil society organisations is a powerful way to do this."
A spokesperson for the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) – one of the supervisory authorities in the forum – told InsuranceERM it believes the FIT can play a "positive role" in the reduction of sustainability risks faced by society.
The spokesperson explained that Eiopa will contribute to the forum with its extensive work on relevant regulatory and supervisory files both at the European and international levels.
Eiopa's spokesperson also noted that since the FIT is a multi-stakeholder platform led and convened by UNEP, it should be able to create a space for complementary efforts on climate action, in comparison to the NZIA.
The NGO and climate activist members of the forum have also voiced their hopes to InsuranceERM on the outcomes of the group.
"We are encouraged by the inclusion of regulators, supervisory authorities, and civil society actors in the FIT, as this provides an opportunity for real and meaningful solutions that align with global climate goals," said Minyoung Shin of the Sunrise Project.
Nonetheless, Shin stressed: "It is crucial that the FIT focus on mitigation as well as adaptation, and that members take a science-based approach centring on action."
Amandine Favier, head of sustainable finance at WWF Zurich, said UNEP convening this multi-stakeholder group is important as a way to guide insurers on frameworks, foster the development of credible transition plans and innovate insurance solutions supporting the transition.
"With several trillions in gross written premiums, insurance companies are an economic heavyweight with enormous potential to reduce the negative impact on climate change and nature loss through their underwriting business and to speed up the transition to a net-zero and nature-positive economy," Favier added.
List of founding members:
- Founding FIT re/insurers (head office location / domicile):
- Achmea (Netherlands)
- African Risk Capacity (South Africa)
- a.s.r. (Netherlands)
- Aviva (UK)
- Beazley (UK)
- CNP Assurances (France)
- Co-operators (Canada)
- Credit Agricole Assurances (France)
- FATUM (Suriname)
- Fidelidade (Portugal)
- Generali (Italy)
- Insurance Australia Group (IAG) (Australia)
- Intesa Sanpaolo Vita (Italy)
- NamibRe (Namibia)
- NN Group (Netherlands)
- Odeon Insurance Re (Singapore)
- Singapore Life (Singapore/Japan)
- Sonepar International Re (Switzerland)
- The Fidelis Partnership (UK/Bermuda)
Founding members of the FIT Consultative Group of Insurance Regulators & Supervisors:
- Sean Carmody, executive director, Insurance Division, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
- Jessica Anne de Almeida Bastos, director, Brazilian Superintendence of Private Insurance
- Cesar Ferrari, superintendent, Financial Superintendence of Colombia
- Tomás Soley Pérez, general superintendent, General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica
- Petra Hielkema, chairperson, European Insurance & Occupational Pensions Authority
- Yann Marin, deputy director, International Affairs Directorate, French Prudential Supervision & Resolution Authority
- Julia Weins, chief executive director of insurance & pension funds supervision, German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
- Kofi Andoh, insurance commissioner, National Insurance Commission of Ghana
- Alberto Corinti, member of the board of directors, Italian Institute for the Supervision of Insurance
- Godfrey Kiptum, insurance commissioner & CEO, Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya
- Daniel Wang, executive director for insurance, Monetary Authority of Singapore
- Armand Schouten, director, Insurance Supervision, Central Bank of the Netherlands
- Charlotte Gerken, executive director for insurance supervision, Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority
- Ricardo Lara, insurance commissioner, California Department of Insurance
- Ann Gillespie, acting director, Illinois Department of Insurance
- Mike Kreidler, insurance commissioner, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Founding members of the FIT Consultative Group on Science, Research & Civil Society:
- Steven Rothstein, managing director, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, Ceres
- Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics & policy, and Leslie Labruto, managing director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund
- Sue Reid, climate finance advisor to Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism
- Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School, and senior advisor, Salata Institute for Climate & Sustainability, Harvard University
- Jean-Michel Beacco, CEO, Louis Bachelier Institute
- Lucie Pinson, founder & executive director, Reclaim Finance
- Minyoung Shin, senior strategist, Global Sustainable Finance, The Sunrise Project
- Dave Jones, director, Climate Risk Initiative, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law
- Tim Lenton, chair in Climate Change & Earth System Science, University of Exeter
- Gordon Noble, research director – business, economy & governance, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
- Amandine Favier, head of sustainable finance, WWF-Switzerland
Members of the FIT Legal Team
FIT Legal Counsel:
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
FIT Special Legal Advisors (serving on individual capacity):
- Maurits Dolmans, senior counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (London/Brussels)
- Ian Giles, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (London/Brussels)