SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Activists with Insure Our Future gathered outside Liberty Mutual's Boston and Seattle offices in December 2019 to demand the insurer "take bold action in the face of the climate emergency and stop insuring fossil fuels."
(Photo: Insure Our Future/Twitter)
Green Groups Urge Insurers to Drop Coverage of Trans Mountain Pipeline
"Now is the time to decisively say no to this destructive project."
Aug 06, 2020
Over 140 advocacy groups released an open letter Thursday urging insurers of Trans Mountain to drop their coverage of the tar sands "megaproject" because it "puts Indigenous communities, drinking water, and our shared climate at grave risk."
"With the policy expiring at the end of August, now is the time to decisively say no to this destructive project," says the letter (pdf).
The call is addressed to AIG, Chubb, Energy Insurance Limited, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Munich Re, Starr, Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, and W.R. Berkley. Spared from the list is Swiss insurance giant Zurich, which announced in a victory for campaigners two weeks ago that it would no longer cover the project
The demand from the groups including Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace Canada, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is part of a tactic by climate activists to increase pressure on insurers to stop underwriting the fossil fuel project, which would triple the capacity of the Canadian government-owned existing pipeline and has faced multiple legal challenges and sustained resistance from First Nations communities.
The existing pipeline, groups wrote, "is a major public health and environmental hazard with a long history of spills and leaks," and the proposed expansion project "would multiply these risks tremendously."
Risks along supply chain abound, from releasing toxic pollutants and extracting vast amounts of fresh water resources to forest clearing to pipeline workers' threats to Indigenous women.
Problems continue once the oil reaches refiners, as they "are disproportionately located in communities of color, exposing Black and Latinx Americans to toxic chemicals, dangerous air quality, and explosive facilities at alarming rates," the letter says. And with "increased tar sands production, refineries are expanding and intensifying these threats to health and safety."
If the companies choose to continue underwriting the project, it will be a reflection "that your company is choosing corporate greed over people" says the letter, warning that doing so "will pose significant reputational risks to your business."
The groups further called on the insurers to not only discontinue coverage of Trans Mountain but "exit the tar sands sector entirely."
In a Thursday tweet promoting news converge of the letter, the Insure Our Future campaign, which pressures insurers to stop covering fossil fuel projects, singled out one of the companies named in the letter: Lloyd's of London.
Lloyd's "is the pipeline's biggest remaining insurer," the group wrote. "Why is it still ignoring climate science?"
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Over 140 advocacy groups released an open letter Thursday urging insurers of Trans Mountain to drop their coverage of the tar sands "megaproject" because it "puts Indigenous communities, drinking water, and our shared climate at grave risk."
"With the policy expiring at the end of August, now is the time to decisively say no to this destructive project," says the letter (pdf).
The call is addressed to AIG, Chubb, Energy Insurance Limited, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Munich Re, Starr, Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, and W.R. Berkley. Spared from the list is Swiss insurance giant Zurich, which announced in a victory for campaigners two weeks ago that it would no longer cover the project
The demand from the groups including Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace Canada, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is part of a tactic by climate activists to increase pressure on insurers to stop underwriting the fossil fuel project, which would triple the capacity of the Canadian government-owned existing pipeline and has faced multiple legal challenges and sustained resistance from First Nations communities.
The existing pipeline, groups wrote, "is a major public health and environmental hazard with a long history of spills and leaks," and the proposed expansion project "would multiply these risks tremendously."
Risks along supply chain abound, from releasing toxic pollutants and extracting vast amounts of fresh water resources to forest clearing to pipeline workers' threats to Indigenous women.
Problems continue once the oil reaches refiners, as they "are disproportionately located in communities of color, exposing Black and Latinx Americans to toxic chemicals, dangerous air quality, and explosive facilities at alarming rates," the letter says. And with "increased tar sands production, refineries are expanding and intensifying these threats to health and safety."
If the companies choose to continue underwriting the project, it will be a reflection "that your company is choosing corporate greed over people" says the letter, warning that doing so "will pose significant reputational risks to your business."
The groups further called on the insurers to not only discontinue coverage of Trans Mountain but "exit the tar sands sector entirely."
In a Thursday tweet promoting news converge of the letter, the Insure Our Future campaign, which pressures insurers to stop covering fossil fuel projects, singled out one of the companies named in the letter: Lloyd's of London.
Lloyd's "is the pipeline's biggest remaining insurer," the group wrote. "Why is it still ignoring climate science?"
Over 140 advocacy groups released an open letter Thursday urging insurers of Trans Mountain to drop their coverage of the tar sands "megaproject" because it "puts Indigenous communities, drinking water, and our shared climate at grave risk."
"With the policy expiring at the end of August, now is the time to decisively say no to this destructive project," says the letter (pdf).
The call is addressed to AIG, Chubb, Energy Insurance Limited, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Munich Re, Starr, Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, and W.R. Berkley. Spared from the list is Swiss insurance giant Zurich, which announced in a victory for campaigners two weeks ago that it would no longer cover the project
The demand from the groups including Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace Canada, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is part of a tactic by climate activists to increase pressure on insurers to stop underwriting the fossil fuel project, which would triple the capacity of the Canadian government-owned existing pipeline and has faced multiple legal challenges and sustained resistance from First Nations communities.
The existing pipeline, groups wrote, "is a major public health and environmental hazard with a long history of spills and leaks," and the proposed expansion project "would multiply these risks tremendously."
Risks along supply chain abound, from releasing toxic pollutants and extracting vast amounts of fresh water resources to forest clearing to pipeline workers' threats to Indigenous women.
Problems continue once the oil reaches refiners, as they "are disproportionately located in communities of color, exposing Black and Latinx Americans to toxic chemicals, dangerous air quality, and explosive facilities at alarming rates," the letter says. And with "increased tar sands production, refineries are expanding and intensifying these threats to health and safety."
If the companies choose to continue underwriting the project, it will be a reflection "that your company is choosing corporate greed over people" says the letter, warning that doing so "will pose significant reputational risks to your business."
The groups further called on the insurers to not only discontinue coverage of Trans Mountain but "exit the tar sands sector entirely."
In a Thursday tweet promoting news converge of the letter, the Insure Our Future campaign, which pressures insurers to stop covering fossil fuel projects, singled out one of the companies named in the letter: Lloyd's of London.
Lloyd's "is the pipeline's biggest remaining insurer," the group wrote. "Why is it still ignoring climate science?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy