Boulder County becomes first to screen insurance contracts for fossil fuel policies

This week, Boulder County passed a first-of-its-kind resolution to screen potential county insurance providers for those that continue to support fossil fuels without phaseout plans, becoming the first U.S. county to call on insurance companies to stop insuring and investing in fossil fuels.

The resolution was adopted by the Board of Supervisors, who cited the need to address financial support for fossil fuel industries contributing to climate change, along with the enormous toll climate pollution inflicts on public health and the economy.

The move comes amidst an active year in the insurance industry responding to increased pressure from activist groups like Insure Our Future, amongst others, to end insurance for and investments in fossil fuels, including coal and tar sands projects and companies.

Since 2015, 19 global insurers have adopted policies to limit or end their insurance for coal, of which four were U.S. insurers. Additionally, nearly 30 insurers have announced plans to divest from coal assets.

The County’s announcement coincided with Fossil Fuel Divestment Day, a national distributed day of action focused on divesting public funds, such as state pension funds and universities, from fossil fuels.

In a statement, Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones said, “Like so many areas around the country, Colorado is already feeling the impacts of climate change. We are looking at the carbon footprint of our financial services, and making sure that the insurance companies we work with aren’t actively furthering the climate crisis was an obvious first step for the county to take.”

The resolution outlines

The resolution explicitly states that the County is taking this action to urge insurance industry companies to divest from fossil fuel industries and end the underwriting of activities in furtherance of the extraction or use of fossil fuels, and to establish divestment as a determining factor in making insurance carrier decisions.

The proclamation was also written to acknowledge the insurance industry’s role in exacerbating the climate crisis and harming public health by providing financial support for industries contributing to the extraction and burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

Supporting the move, the resolution notes that the 40 largest U.S. insurers hold combined investments of over $450 billion in coal, oil, gas, and electric utilities, in addition to insuring projects like coal-fired power plants, tar sands pipelines, and other fossil fuel infrastructure that accelerate climate change.

See also:

• Top U.S. insurers pulling out of coal due to climate change
• Goldman Sachs won’t finance Arctic drilling or new thermal coal mines
• Chubb joins the fight against climate change