The comments are the latest sign that corporate and political appetites for acting on climate change may have receded in Europe since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week allowed diesel and petrol cars to be sold in the United Kingdom until 2035 rather than the previous rule that would have phased them out by 2030. Mr Sunak also delayed the phase-out of gas boilers.
BP and Shell have watered down their promises to cut oil production, while Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said in May that he regretted setting a 15 per cent emissions reduction goal for 2025, adding that it could only be delivered by purchasing offsets.
“The rush to exit [selling insurance to coal miners], particularly if you are an existing customer, I think has gone away somewhat, and I think that is just out of the reality that the transition will take time and renewables aren’t stepping up in a scale that people hoped,” Mr Bishop said.
About 44 of the world’s biggest insurers have pledged to stop or restrict underwriting for coal, according to the environmental activist organisation Insure Our Future.
Politicians in the United States this year targeted the major insurers, urging them to explain to a Senate committee why they were continuing to underwrite fossil fuel projects when they were scaling back insurance for those living in areas prone to wildfire or other natural disasters that could be linked to climate change.
Some Australian insurers have set ambitious carbon reduction targets, with Suncorp vowing in 2020 to cease insuring coal by 2025.
But the level of ambition differs across the sector; the Insurance Council of Australia published a road map last year that vowed to work with its members to ensure they reached net-zero carbon emissions no later than 2050, and to also assist them in setting interim targets for 2030.
Australian coal miners unsuccessfully sought political support for a mutual fund before the last federal election, with former Adani boss Lucas Dow suggesting governments should provide $1.5 billion to help establish it.
Mr Bishop said New Hope would continue to participate in talks over a self-insurance scheme for the Australian coal sector, in the belief that it could be useful for small suppliers to the sector. “It is something we are certainly keeping abreast of because I think it is a good initiative for the industry, particularly the smaller start-up businesses which clearly find it more challenging to get insurance. But we are in a different position,” he said.
“Given our good claims history, given our risk profile, we need to be sure that joining a broader industry [fund] is going to be in our shareholders’ best interests.”
