I am sharing this press release from Sheffield Extinction Rebellion after yesterday’s demonstration outside the office of Arch.
Today, as insurers and banks face a wave of national protest including in Sheffield, Coal Action Network announced that five insurers have given guarantees that they will not provide cover for the planned controversial West Cumbria Coal Mine.
West Cumbria Mining Ltd wants to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually from what would be the UK’s first new underground coal mine in 30 years [1]. The project has faced fierce public opposition with over 100k people joining the campaign [2] and legal challenges as campaigners believe it goes against the government’s legally-binding net zero emissions target [3].
In Sheffield, members of Extinction Rebellion protested in front of the Sheffield addresses of Lloyd’s of London members, Arch Insurance and Markel. Although Arch has previously ruled out providing insurance policies for other controversial fossil fuel projects such as the Adani Carmichael coal project, they are yet to do the same for the West Cumbria coal mine. The protesters carried placards with the message “No Time for a Coal Mine” and “Don’t Insure the West Cumbria Coal Mine “. One of the demonstrators dressed as a mining canary and delivered a warning to the insurance companies about the nine millions tonnes of CO2 that the West Cumbria coal mine would release every year.
Jemima from XR Sheffield said: “The West Cumbria mine completely undermines the UK’s net zero commitments. Today we are holding those who support the fossil fuel industry accountable – insurers like Arch and Markel need to stand on the right side of history and reject the West Cumbria coal mine.”
The insurers that have ruled out underwriting the mine are AEGIS Managing Agency, Argenta Syndicate Management, Argo Managing Agency, Hannover Re and Talanx. These are the first financial institutions to rule out any involvement with the project, and the win represents a new phase in the campaign to stop the project from going ahead.
Andrew Taylor from Coal Action Network said: “The British government has ignored the pressure from people across the UK who are calling for them to stop the climate-wrecking West Cumbria coal mine, so today people have taken to the streets to demand that insurers and banks, including HSBC, turn their backs on this disastrous fossil fuel project. Five insurers stating they won’t be involved is just the beginning.”
Protests took place today in London, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, York, Wrexham, Cardiff, Shrewsbury and Croydon. They are part of a wider global mobilisation against the ongoing use of fossil fuels, and over 400 actions, marches, rallies, and events will take place around the world, coordinated by more than 780 endorsing organizations. Millions of participants are expected to take part between 15-17 September [4].
The main targets of today’s protest were Lloyd’s of London insurers and HSBC. Actions included placing imitation blue heritage plaques in prominent locations, linking Lloyd’s historical links to slavery [5] to their ongoing insurance of fossil fuels; people dressed as mining canaries; and protesters asking staff to raise concerns about the mine with company management.
Lloyds has come under ongoing global pressure to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects, and various high-profile actions have been staged at their offices [6, 7]. One of the most successful campaigns to date was the Stop Adani campaign, which persuaded 45 major insurance companies, including 28 that manage Lloyd’s syndicates, to rule out any underwriting for the Adani Carmichael coal project [8].
Over the past few years, coal companies have found it increasingly hard to find traditional insurance for new and existing mines, leading some to take on additional costs and risks through self-insurance [9]. Many mainstream insurers who used to underwrite coal projects have put in sector-wide exclusions for coal [10], however many of these policies do not cover the metrological coal that will be extracted from the proposed West Cumbria mine. Coal Action Network hopes that the campaign to cut off insurance from the West Cumbria mine will lead to the insurance industry expanding existing policy exclusions to include coal for steel production.
Anne Harris from Coal Action Network said: “Burning coal to make steel needs to rapidly be phased out. If mining started at Whitehaven the vast majority of the coal would be exported as it is high in sulphur and would breach UK air quality regulations if burned in large amounts. The UK’s 2 blast furnaces are the country’s second and third biggest carbon emitters. Investment in new technology and increased reuse and recycling of steel is needed to green the industry, not new mines.”
HSBC was targeted by campaigners as they have previously financed EMR Capital, the private equity firm behind the West Cumbria mine [11]. HSBC has policies that commits it to phasing out finance for coal mines [12] and has faced pressure to go further over the past few years. The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that HSBC misled consumers regarding their green credentials in two adverts that appeared on the high-street in 2021 [13]. This was the first time the UK’s advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint for ‘greenwashing’ by an advertiser in the financial industry.
Coal Action Network works for an end to coal use in power generation and steel production; coal extraction and coal imports in the UK, and for justice for communities affected by the UK’s current and historical involvement with coal.
References:
1. https://www.coalaction.org.uk/2022/08/03/whitehaven-coal-mine-facts-figures/
2. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-cumbria-coal-mine
3. https://www.coalaction.org.uk/2023/08/10/delayed-challenges-whitehaven/
4. https://fightfossilfuels.net/press-release-actions
5. https://www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds/history/the-trans-atlantic-slave-trade
6. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2022/04/12/we-have-closed-lloyds-of-london/
8. https://www.marketforces.org.au/campaigns/stop-adani/theadanilist/#whos-out
11. https://www.banktrack.org/project/west_cumbria_coal_mine
12. https://www.hsbc.com/news-and-views/news/hsbc-news-archive/were-phasing-out-coal-financing
13. https://www.mishcon.com/news/hsbc-ads-ruled-to-be-greenwashing-by-the-asa-a-warning-to-other-banks
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