Stockholm (NordSIP) – As part of its commitment to preserving biodiversity by implementing a plan to fight against the deterioration of forest ecosystems, AXA recently announced it will invest €1.5 billion to support sustainable forest management.
The plan includes €500 million in reforestation projects in emerging countries and is expected to capture 25 megatons of CO2 each year. Deforestation is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss and carbon emissions and represents a double loss for the climate because forests are the greatest contributors to carbon capture.
“Forests represent 80% of the Earth’s biodiversity and play an essential role in the fight against climate change. AXA has been a pioneer in the financial industry by adopting, in 2013, restrictions on unsustainable palm oil operations to protect stressed ecosystems. In the face of the climate emergency, and prior to the COP26, we are proud to extend our commitments and announce new measures to fight deforestation, protect forest ecosystems, and preserve biodiversity,” said Thomas Buberl, AXA’s CEO.
AXA IM is an active player in sustainable forest management managing over 60,000 hectares of forests assets on behalf of the AXA Group. According to the investment manager, all of its forest assets are certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification or the Forest Stewardship Council.
The Insurance Perspective
AXA also announced it will also strengthen its investment and insurance requirements in activities that actively contribute to deforestation, specifically certain soy, palm oil, timber, and cattle production in regions where these industries strongly contribute to deforestation.
Furthermore, AXA is joining the World Heritage Sites initiative, launched by the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance and WWF, and will implement specific exclusions on its insurance activities to protect the main biodiversity reserves identified by UNESCO. Half of these sites, spread over 110 countries, are recognized as biodiversity hotspots, and play a key role in natural disaster prevention.
AXA’s Partnersips
AXA will continue its ongoing commitment to biodiversity conservation through its work as a founding member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). This initiative will play a key role in developing a reporting framework that will enable financial institutions to identify and analyze economic activities that have a direct and indirect material impact on biodiversity.
AXA is also a member of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI), through which it has committed to supporting the goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. To this effect, AXA IM has announced that 41% of AXA IM’s eligible assets are aligned with the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative 2050 objective.
“We are reporting on our net zero journey for the first time today and in a few weeks, during the World Climate Summit in Glasgow, we will share further details on how we intend to not only support but accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. This will include our interim targets and new ambitious commitments,” Marco Morelli, Executive Chairman at AXA IM, said.
“While climate action remains a collective effort across policy makers, corporates, governments and investors, we at AXA IM firmly believe that we can make a difference by allocating increasingly more capital towards companies and projects that are dedicated to supporting the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or, when possible, sooner,” Morelli concluded.