Despite a growing consensus among financial regulators that climate change poses significant risks to the insurance sector, industry associations representing the largest US insurance companies have been actively engaged in efforts to weaken and delay emerging climate-related insurance regulation at both the federal and state levels.
A comprehensive assessment of the world's 30 largest listed financial institutions shows a clear disconnect between the concrete short-term targets and actions needed to address the climate emergency and the limited, long-term targets currently being set by the financial sector. This research seeks to compare the sector's stated climate policies and commitments to its climate-relevant financing and policy lobbying activities.
Despite the CA100+ initiative having clear expectations on Paris-aligned lobbying, only 2 of the 31 CA100+ target companies found to be engaging on the taxonomy appear to be supportive of its science-based guidance with 4 companies advocating mixed or unclear positions, leaving more than 80% pushing the Commission to weaken the criteria that define what can be considered sustainable.
In the final year of the Trump Administration, authorities finalized three rules which have the effect of limiting the opportunities for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing.
Intensive lobbying throughout 2020 from real economy sectors has extracted significant concessions from the European Commission on its EU Sustainable Finance taxonomy.
New analysis from InfluenceMap has tracked significant lobbying on the EU Ecolabel since late 2018, as part of a wider ongoing research process covering the EUs Sustainable Finance Action Plan and how the corporate sector is influencing the process.
The following briefing focuses on how Japanese industry associations lobbied the Taxonomy and considers how these lobbying positions contrast with those of some leading European financial institutions.
An analysis of how business has sought to influence this key EU policy
