AIG’s Brussels headquarters saw 1,000 litres of fake oil spilt on its doorstep on Friday, as activists protested the insurer’s tar mining policies.
The protest coincided with a similar stunt at the Lloyds building in London, as protesters affiliated with Insurance Rebellion sought to highlight the insurance industry’s funding of fossil fuels.
Demonstrators at AIG held banners that read, “Here AIG insures climate disaster,” taped off the area with “Climate Crime Scene” tape, and fired flares.
Lloyd’s London offices were targeted in response to the insurer’s refusal to rule out new oil extraction at the UK’s North Sea Cambo oil field and ongoing insurance of Canada’s Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline.
AIG was targeted for providing insurance for Canada’s contentious Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline. Activists claim expansion of the pipeline breaches indigenous rights, hinders local ecosystems and communities and allows the extraction of highly-polluting tar sands. Insurance Rebellion is demanding that insurance companies cease insuring and investing in all forms of fossil fuel.
The action follows recent challenges to the ESG credentials of group risk insurers AIG and MetLife. In June 2021, Legal & General Investment Management announced its divestment from AIG due to climate policy concerns, citing a lack of thermal coal policy and concerns about disclosing Scope 3, or ‘value chain’ emissions.
The protests were just two of many taking place ahead of the COP26 summit, which began today in Glasgow.
Insurance Rebellion spokesperson Eve West says: “AIG is a market leader in fuelling climate breakdown. They join Lloyd’s of London as some of the worst insurance companies on the planet when it comes to underwriting toxic fossil fuel projects. We took action today at AIG and Lloyd’s of London, because the whole insurance industry keeps supporting projects that will lead to a future of extreme weather, famine, mass migration and mass extinction. “
AIG was invited to comment.
