Reinsurance company Munich Re to cut investments in coal projects
German reinsurance company Munich Re will no longer invest in companies that make more than 30 percent of their revenues from coal-based operations, CEO Joachim Wenning said in a guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Climate change is a fact,” Wenning said, adding that reaching the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees Celsius is necessary to avoid having to spend more and more on costly weather extremes. “Of all fossil fuels, coal is responsible for the biggest share of CO2 emissions,” he said, adding that new coal plants are “irreconcilable” with the aim of curbing climate change. Munich Re would instead ramp up its efforts in promoting sustainable technologies, such as solar power, wind power, or power-to-X systems, Wenning said. However, while coal-based projects will be shunned “in principle,” there will be exceptions for “existing clients or in emerging markets,” as the latter should be allowed to continue burning coal for economic growth, Wenning added.
Find a Reuters article on the topic in English here.
See CLEW’s Coal exit commission watch and the factsheet Germany’s coal exit commission for background on the fossil fuel’s future in Germany.