NZIA rules relaxed after insurers quit

Written by Adam Cadle

06/07/2023

The UN Environment Programme has issued a statement on the relaxed rules of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), launched two years ago.

The NZIA has effectively dumped all requirements to set or publish greenhouse gas emission-reduction targets after pressure led to half of the members quitting because of fears over litigation in the US.

UNEP said that going forward NZIA member companies will have no obligation to set or publish targets. Individual companies will be responsible and publicly accountable for any targets they do set, the methodologies used to set them, the timeline on which they decide to publish any targets, and the progress they are making.

The NZIA Target-Setting Protocol will serve as a voluntary best practice guide to aid in the accurate measurement, standardisation, and comparability of science-based decarbonisation targets for insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios and to enhance overall transparency and accountability across the insurance industry on climate action.
Since its launch the NZIA and its partners have developed the foundational concepts and frameworks to support its members as they work towards decarbonising their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios.

UNEP stated: "Each company who chooses to be a member of the NZIA unilaterally and independently decides on the steps on its path towards net-zero. NZIA membership does not involve any coordinated competitive conduct or exchanges of competitively sensitive information. Rather, the NZIA provides a range of methodology options to support individual NZIA members’ progress towards their own net-zero commitments.”

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