(CU)_ British multinational insurance company Aviva plc said on Monday that it plans to reach net zero emissions by 2040, claiming that this was the most demanding target set by any major insurer worldwide.
Following the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, governments and businesses worldwide are aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in order to limit global warming to pre-industrial levels of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“For the world to reach net zero, it’s going to take leadership and radical ambition,” Aviva Chief Executive Amanda Blanc said in a statement.
Accordingly, the insurer plans to achieve this target from its own operations and supply chain by 2030, while net zero levels from its investments are expected to be achieved by 2040. The firm also plans to expand its green investment and to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles in its motor fleet and use renewable energy in its offices.
Moreover, by the end of this year, Aviva will stop underwriting insurance for companies making more than 5 per cent of their revenue from coal or unconventional fossil fuels, unless the firm has signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative, a programme which signs off on corporate climate plans.
Aviva is among the 30 members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, convened by the United Nations, along with other insurers such as Allianz, Generali and Zurich.
The COP26 climate talks are scheduled to be held in Scotland later this year, during which, countries will attempt to accelerate global efforts against climate change, and ahead of the conference, investors are stepping up their efforts to achieve net zero emissions.
In December last year, the New York state pension fund announced its plans to reach zero emissions by 2040, thereby becoming the first US pension fund to set the goal by date.
