{"id":40288,"date":"2026-09-16T13:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T11:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=40288"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:22:14","slug":"fighting-fossil-fuel-expansion-the-underestimated-role-of-publicly-backed-reinsurers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2026\/09\/16\/fighting-fossil-fuel-expansion-the-underestimated-role-of-publicly-backed-reinsurers\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting fossil fuel expansion: the underestimated role of publicly backed reinsurers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In June 2026, the Caisse Centrale de R\u00e9assurance (CCR) made the commitment<\/a><\/span> to stop new investments in companies developing new oil and gas projects. A preventive measure that reflects a logical decision: to stop financing companies that contribute to the climate risks it underwrites. CCR is nevertheless the only publicly backed reinsurer in Europe to have taken such a decision. Reclaim Finance calls on other schemes, including Flood Re (UK), the Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros – CCS (ES) and SACE (IT), to follow suit. Beyond their investment policies, these reinsurers have other tools at their disposal to change the practices of their partners and insurance clients.<\/p>\n<\/div>

According to insurance industry experts, climate change is considered to be the greatest threat facing society (1). As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events continue to rise, insurers (2) and reinsurers (3) are calling for preventive measures to be implemented in order to preserve the insurability of homes and businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Missing the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C: a threat to maintaining the insurability of risks<\/h2><\/span>
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According to the United Nations, it is highly likely that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C by 2100 compared with the pre-industrial era will not be met (4). Every effort must now be made to avoid each additional fraction of a degree of warming and thereby prevent irreversible tipping points (5) with major consequences for society and the insurance sector.<\/p>\n

Some voices within the insurance sector have been sounding the alarm for many years. In 2025, G\u00fcnther Thallinger, board member of the Allianz Group, warned that the risks generated by a world that is 3\u00b0C warmer would no longer be transferable to the insurance sector.(6) Ten years earlier, Henri de Castries, CEO of the AXA Group, had already shared a similar warning.(7)<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Fossil fuel expansion: a threat to keeping global warming as close as possible to 1.5\u00b0C<\/h2><\/span>
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Since 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE),(8) a pathway to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 for the energy sector, an essential milestone if we are to have any hope of keeping global warming as close as possible to 1.5\u00b0C by 2100.<\/p>\n

The IEA is clear: achieving net zero emissions requires a drastic reduction in coal production (-92%), oil production (-78%) and gas production (-75%) by 2050 compared with current levels.(9) The NZE projects an immediate end to the development of new coal mines and coal-fired power plants, as well as new oil and gas fields approved after 2021. In its latest NZE updates, the IEA has also indicated that the significant decline in natural gas production projected under this scenario means that a very large number of LNG terminals currently under construction or in the planning stage are not needed.(10)<\/p>\n

In light of these projections, public reinsurers, whose mission is to preserve the insurability of homes and businesses, must do everything in their power to combat fossil fuel expansion, which threatens efforts to limit global warming and therefore undermines their own mandate.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Financing fossil fuel expansion: a practice at odds with climate risk prevention<\/h2><\/span>
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Public reinsurers such as Flood Re and CCR have for several years been implementing preventive measures in their capacity as reinsurers (11) and investors,(12) in order to limit the future cost of climate-related claims they reinsure.<\/span><\/p>\n

These efforts are necessary but insufficient unless they are accompanied by an investment policy that prevents them from financing companies responsible for fossil-fuel expansion across the entire value chain,(13) including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n