AXA announces new decarbonisation targets and biodiversity report

Written by Dan McGrath

29/06/2023

AXA has released new decarbonisation targets for its insurance and investment portfolios as it publishes its 2023 climate & biodiversity report.

In line with legal obligations for extra-financial reporting, AXA’s eighth climate and biodiversity report highlights the different dimensions of its action on climate and biodiversity: governance, strategy, risk management and quantified indicators of its actions.

One of the main indicators of the report, “the group’s portfolio’s implied temperature rise”, measures the impact of the corporate bonds and equities held in AXA’s general account portfolios on global warming by 2050. It stands at 2.5 degrees Celsius in 2022, down 0.1 degrees on 2021 using last year’s methodology and remains below the market, 2.7 degrees Celsius.

For the first time, the firm is publishing targets to drive the decarbonisation of its property and casualty insurance portfolios and develop its insurance activities dedicated to the transition.

AXA has set targets to increase its business in the field of renewable energies, more broadly across sectors transitioning to low carbon business models and says it will develop environmentally sustainable claims management for its motor business by 2026.

The company also is looking to reduce the carbon intensity of the most material personal motor portfolios by 20% by 2030; reduce the absolute carbon emissions of their largest commercial insurance clients and other corporate clients by 30% and 20% respectively by 2030, and strengthen dialogue with its customers, external stakeholders and partners to better support the transition.

Furthermore, AXA has also announced that it is continuing its effort to reduce the carbon footprint of its investment activities, setting the target of reducing its carbon footprint by 50% between 2019 and 2030.

AXA’s chief executive officer, Thomas Buberl, said: “These targets demonstrate our determination to pursue our commitment towards climate change. The indicators in our climate and biodiversity report indicate the progress made, but also the efforts that are still required in terms of access to data, strengthening measurement and modelling methodologies, and the importance of accelerating the pace of the transition.

“As insurers, we see the increasing risks that climate change and the loss of biodiversity pose to our economies and societies, and how they are intensifying. We will continue engaging with our clients and our stakeholders leveraging all the levers at our disposal, from prevention to investment, from the financing of scientific research to insurance, as well as partnerships and collaboration with private and public players.”

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