Svenska Handelsbanken AB
Svenska Handelsbanken AB
01/21/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/21/2022 03:07
Handelsbanken Liv endorses the Fossil Fuel Treaty
2022-01-21
Handelsbanken Liv endorses the Fossil Fuel Treaty
Handelsbanken Liv is the first life insurance company in the world to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty - a global initiative to phase out fossil fuels and support a just transition.
According to the IPCC, the global emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced by at least 45 per cent by 2030 compared with the 2010 levels in order to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit the global increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees. Despite some progress being made at the COP26 Climate Summit in 2021, Climate Action Tracker's assessment is that the presented national climate goals (Nationally Determined Contributions - NDC) indicate a continued temperature rise of between 2.0 and 2.4 degrees.
"In order to phase out fossil energy completely, global commitments and concrete plans will be required. Therefore, we want to encourage politicians, as well as other banks, fund management companies, and insurance companies, to act. It's absolutely crucial that more companies and organisations contribute, and, like Handelsbanken Liv, redirect their financial flows from fossil energy to renewable alternatives," says Martin Björgell, Head of Product and Business Analysis, Handelsbanken Liv.
Through the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) of 1968, the countries of the world agreed on a non-proliferation treaty in order to prevent nuclear war, and the Montreal Protocol of 1987 successfully brought together countries all around the world in order to protect the ozone layer. To follow on from these agreements, governments are now called upon to negotiate and ratify a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty in order to stop the expansion, phase out fossil fuels, and to ensure a just global transition for all.
"For several years now, we have worked actively to influence fund managers to exclude investments in fossil fuels and to restructure their investments, but we recognise the need to speed things up. By taking this position, we want to lead by example and demonstrate that there are banks and insurance companies that take the issue of climate change seriously and are at the forefront of this development," says Martin Björgell, Handelsbanken Liv.
About the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a global initiative to phase out fossil fuels and support a just transition.More than 1,000 companies and organisations, and more than 2,000 researchers and scientists, have endorsed the call to the world's governments to negotiate and ratify a non-proliferation treaty.
For further information, please contact:
Martin Björgell, Head of Product and Business Analysis, Handelsbanken Liv, +46725655927
Handelsbanken Press Office, [email protected], +4687018018
Handelsbanken Liv is Handelsbanken's life insurance company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary. We provide insurance policies in all of Handelsbanken's branches around Sweden, and our vision is to contribute to more secure lives and a better future. We have approx. SEK 250bn under management, and work, through sustainable investments, to provide good returns for our customers - financial yield and environmental progress, as well as stability and security.
For more information about Handelsbanken Liv, see: www.handelsbanken.se/liv
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