’Underwriting dangerous fossil fuel projects puts children at risk’, according to a Mothers Rise Up activist

Climate activist group Mothers Rise Up has demanded Lloyd’s of London stops insuring fossil fuels projects in a protest outside the marketplace today (17 March 2023).

The protest organisation held a concert outside the market’s Lime Street headquarters where staff were urged to drop new fossil fuel projects.

Over 50 people joined the protest, which saw reworked motown songs – such as Respect, Heatwave and Stop in the Name of Love – sung by a singer dubbed Mother Earth.

“Our protest outside Lloyd’s today is upbeat and fun, but it has a serious message – stop insuring new fossil fuels,” Mothers Rise Up activist Becky Ward said.

“[Some] 1bn children – nearly half the world’s children – are already at extremely high risk of being impacted by the climate crisis and losing their homes, their family, their education and their hopes for the future. 

“Insurance is meant to offer protection, but by underwriting dangerous fossil fuel projects, Lloyd’s is putting our children’s future at risk.”

‘Pressure mounting’

In 2020, Lloyd’s implemented a market-wide policy to stop new insurance cover for coal-fired power plants, tar sands and Arctic energy projects by 1 January 2022.

In addition, it vowed to pull out of the business of insuring these entities altogether by 2030 – it will also phase out existing investments in companies that derive 30% or more of their revenues from this area by the end of 2025.

However, Mothers Rise Up claimed that “pressure is mounting” on Lloyd’s, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth Assessment synthesis report on climate change due to be published later in March.

“The report is expected to underline that current policies miss the window to secure a liveable future and urgent, transformative change is needed,” the group claimed.

Maya Mailer, Mothers Rise Up member, added: “Lloyd’s is rapidly becoming an insurer of last resort.

”It needs to introduce marketwide policies to exclude all coal, tar sands and Arctic energy as well as new oil and gas.

”This is the minimum needed to protect our planet and keep all our kids safe.”

When contacted, Lloyd’s declined to comment on the protest.