Climate activists protest Liberty Mutual's role as fossil fuel insurer
The campaign launch falls on the two-year anniversary of the Tubbs Fire, the most destructive fire at the time.
The Rainforest Action Network (RAN), in conjunction with Insure Our Future and Mothers Out Front, staged a protest at Liberty Mutual’s on Oct. 8, formally launching a campaign demanding that one of the top fossil fuel insurers take responsibility for its role fueling the climate crisis.
The launch falls on the two-year anniversary of the Tubbs Fire, the most destructive fire at the time.
“We are here today because Liberty Mutual has refused more than fifteen requests since July 2018 to discuss its support for the fossil fuel industry. We will continue to spotlight the company’s role in driving climate change until Liberty Mutual takes bold action in the face of the growing climate emergency,” Elana Sulakshana, energy finance campaigner at RAN, said in a statement.
The Insure Our Future campaign wants Liberty Mutual to immediately stop underwriting coal and tar sands projects and companies, start divesting from coal and tar sands companies, and align all business activities with limiting climate change to 1.5ºC.
The campaign against Liberty Mutual follows a string of recent victories from a global coalition tackling climate change from the insurance perspective. Thirteen European and two Australian companies have already adopted policies restricting coal insurance, and four of these have restricted tar sands insurance as well.
In July, Chubb became the first U.S. insurer to follow suit, implementing a policy on coal insurance and investments.
Financial ties
According to RAN, Liberty Mutual is a top global insurer of coal, oil and gas. Their white paper says the company invests more than $6.6 billion in fossil fuel companies, including $1.5 billion in thermal coal.
A representative from Liberty Mutual could not be reached for comment at the time of this publication.
“With ever-worsening wildfires, floods and storms, the U.S. insurance industry is reeling,” Mary Cerulli, with Mothers Out Front in Boston, a volunteer network that builds power to ensure a liveable climate for all children, said in a statement. “In Boston, we are already seeing unprecedented coastal flooding. It makes no sense for an insurance company, especially one headquartered here, to fuel the climate crisis knowingly.”
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