Insurers must rule out underwriting proposed Brunsbüttel LNG terminal, campaigners argue

Written by Adam Cadle

05/10/2021

Members of the Insure Our Future network and other social movements have sent an open letter to a number of insurers calling on them not to underwrite the proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Brunsbüttel, North Germany.

The letter was sent to Munich Re, AXA, HDI/Talanx, Zurich Insurance Group, AIG Europe, SCOR, Allianz, Chubb and Liberty Mutual. It argued that the proposed Brunsbüttel LNG terminal by energy network operator Gasunie, and any other new or expanding fossil fuel projects, will lock the world into “decades of additional gas emissions”, further “fuelling the climate crisis”.

“Brunsbüttel will cost €450m to build, of which up to €100m will come from German taxpayers. LNG terminals require decades long lifespans to pay off the initial costs of building them, thus locking us into another generation of fossil fuel use. The project has a 30–50 year life span, which is the same timeframe we have to decarbonise. This either indicates that climate targets are just a mirage, or that this will be a huge stranded asset.”

Insure Our Future European coordinator Lindsay Keenan added: “If insurers take their commitments to the Paris Agreement seriously, and continue to claim they are leading the industry’s race to net-zero, they need to stop underwriting and investing in new oil and gas projects and phase out existing oil and gas insurance in line with a 1.5°C pathway.”

Related Articles