25 April 2024—The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is pleased to announce the creation of the Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero (FIT), a new UN-led and convened structured dialogue and multistakeholder forum to support the necessary acceleration and scaling up of voluntary climate action by the insurance industry and key stakeholders. The creation of the Forum is a major new opportunity for UNEP, the insurance industry and key stakeholders, and takes into account the experience gained with the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) that first transformed net-zero insurance from theory to practice.

 Over the past months, UNEP met with a wide range of key stakeholders to discuss practical and effective ways in which insurance can support and accelerate the transition to a net-zero emissions economy. These consultations have validated a clear and urgent need to create a new, multistakeholder forum, and have also identified work priorities going forward.

Chaired by UNEP, the FIT will work with insurance market participants (e.g. insurers, reinsurers, brokers) and engage with insurance regulators and supervisors, net-zero standard-setters and initiatives, the scientific and academic community, civil society, and other key stakeholders (e.g. sustainability disclosure initiatives, real economy actors) to advance net-zero insurance thinking and practices globally.

Initial priorities for the FIT include:

  • Advancing frameworks for net-zero insurance metrics and voluntary targets, and developing new net-zero insurance concepts
  • Developing a net-zero transition plan framework for insurance market participants
  • Engaging with the real economy on the development of net-zero transition plans by corporates across different sectors
  • Tackling challenges and opportunities to develop insurance solutions and taxonomies that would support the net-zero transition

The aim is to foster availability of insurance and finance for transition projects and technologies and net-zero activities.

Founding FIT participants comprise 19 insurers and reinsurers from around the world, including from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania (see list below).

The FIT will seek input on its activities from two separate consultative groups that are independent of each other—one group made up of insurance regulatory and supervisory authorities; the other group made up of academic, research and civil society organisations. It is anticipated that the outputs of the FIT will be made publicly available.

The founding members of the FIT’s Consultative Group of Insurance Regulators & Supervisors (CGIRS) comprise 16 insurance regulatory and supervisory authorities from all regions, including the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, European Insurance & Occupational Pensions Authority, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, National Insurance Commission of Ghana, California Department of Insurance, and Brazilian Superintendence of Private Insurance (see full list below).

 The founding members of the FIT’s Consultative Group on Science, Research & Civil Society (CGSRC) comprise 11 renowned academic institutions and civil society organisations from different regions (see list below).

Meanwhile, the FIT’s legal team comprises experts on antitrust and competition laws, sustainability, insurance and finance, among other core areas of expertise, from three leading global law firms. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLB is serving as the FIT’s legal counsel, led by two Partners. Furthermore, two legal advisors, one each from Cleary Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, are serving as individual special legal advisors to the FIT and are working together with the Freshfields team (see list below).

Overall, the FIT is kickstarting its work with a critical mass and diverse group of 46 organisations from across the globe. It is expected that more organisations worldwide will join the FIT in the coming months as it becomes fully operational.

As part of this evolution in UNEP’s work with the global insurance industry and key stakeholders, the NZIA will be discontinued effective 25 April 2024.

Through the FIT, UNEP will deepen and strengthen its commitment to work with the global insurance industry and key stakeholders to support the acceleration and scaling up of the transition to a net-zero economy, as part of the solution to the global climate crisis and the vision of a resilient, sustainable, and prosperous future for all. 

Founding FIT Participants (head office location):
  • Achmea (Netherlands)
  • African Risk Capacity (South Africa)
  • a.s.r. (Netherlands)
  • Aviva (UK)
  • Beazley (UK)
  • CNP Assurances (France)
  • Co-operators (Canada)
  • Credit Agricole Assurances (France)
  • FATUM (Suriname)
  • Fidelidade (Portugal)
  • Generali (Italy)
  • Insurance Australia Group (IAG) (Australia)
  • Intesa Sanpaolo Vita (Italy)
  • NamibRe (Namibia)
  • NN Group (Netherlands)
  • Odeon Insurance Re (Singapore)
  • Singapore Life (Singapore/Japan*)
  • Sonepar International Re (Switzerland)
  • The Fidelis Partnership (UK/Bermuda**)

*  Country where parent company is domiciled / ** Place of domicile

Founding Members of the FIT Consultative Group of Insurance Regulators & Supervisors (CGIRS):
  • Australia: Sean Carmody, Executive Director, Insurance Division, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
  • Brazil: Jessica Anne de Almeida Bastos, Director, Brazilian Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP)
  • Colombia: Cesar Ferrari, Superintendent, Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC)
  • Costa Rica: Tomás Soley Pérez, General Superintendent, General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica (SUGESE)
  • European Union: Petra Hielkema, Chairperson, European Insurance & Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
  • France: Yann Marin, Deputy Director, International Affairs Directorate, French Prudential Supervision & Resolution Authority (ACPR)
  • Germany: Julia Wiens, Chief Executive Director of Insurance & Pension Funds Supervision, German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, (BaFin)
  • Ghana: Kofi Andoh, Insurance Commissioner, National Insurance Commission of Ghana (NIC)
  • Italy: Alberto Corinti, Member of the Board of Directors, Italian Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS)
  • Kenya: Godfrey Kiptum, Insurance Commissioner & CEO, Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya (IRA)
  • Singapore: Daniel Wang, Executive Director for Insurance, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
  • The Netherlands: Armand Schouten, Director, Insurance Supervision, Central Bank of the Netherlands (DNB)
  • UK: Charlotte Gerken, Executive Director for Insurance Supervision, Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
  • USA (California): Ricardo Lara, Insurance Commissioner, California Department of Insurance
  • USA (Illinois): Ann Gillespie, Acting Director, Illinois Department of Insurance
  • USA (Washington State): Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Founding Members of the FIT Consultative Group on Science, Research & Civil Society (CGSRC):
  • Steven Rothstein, Managing Director, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, Ceres
  • Carolyn Kousky, Associate Vice President for Economics & Policy and Leslie Labruto, Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Sue Reid, Climate Finance Advisor to Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism
  • Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School and Senior Advisor, Salata Institute for Climate & Sustainability, Harvard University
  • Jean-Michel Beacco, CEO, Louis Bachelier Institute (ILB)
  • Lucie Pinson, Founder & Executive Director, Reclaim Finance
  • Minyoung Shin, Senior Strategist, Global Sustainable Finance, The Sunrise Project
  • Dave Jones, Director, Climate Risk Initiative, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law
  • Tim Lenton, Chair in Climate Change & Earth System Science, University of Exeter
  • Gordon Noble, Research Director – Business, Economy & Governance, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
  • Amandine Favier, Head of Sustainable Finance, WWF-Switzerland
Members of the FIT Legal Team:

FIT Legal Counsel: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Core Freshfields team supported by an international team of legal experts:

  • Martin McElwee, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (London/Brussels)
  • Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP (Washington DC)
  • Francesca Triggs, Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (London)
  • Tina LaRitz, Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP (New York)

FIT Special Legal Advisors (serving on individual capacity):

  • Maurits Dolmans, Senior Counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (London/Brussels)
  • Ian Giles, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (London/Brussels)