Germany’s insurers report good progress on sustainability while civil society group raises doubts
Clean Energy Wire
The lobby group German Insurance Association (GDV) has credited its member companies with making solid progress towards sustainability targets, including a substantial cut in greenhouse gas emissions in their financial investments. In its 2025 sustainability report, the GDV found that the CO2-intensity in investments dropped 23 percent last year to 47 tonnes per one million euros, excluding scope 3 emissions (indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur due to a company’s activities, but are not controlled by the company).
GDV also said that its members increased the share of sustainable investments in their portfolios from 163 to 184 billion euros, equivalent to a share of roughly ten percent of all investments. More insurers are increasingly using climate-resilient construction and recycled materials when repairing damages, the GDV said.
The industry association said that more than 90 percent of insurers are pursuing a net-zero emissions target for their investments and that coal and oil have largely been removed from portfolios. “As a risk-bearer and investor, we assume responsibility and keep course even if there are headwinds,” said GDV head Jörg Asmussen.
Civil society group Urgewald, meanwhile, criticised reinsurer MunichRe, one of the largest insurance companies in the country. The NGO argued that the company’s departure from the Net-Zero-Asset-Owner-Alliance earlier this year sent “a fatal signal” regarding its climate ambitions. “The impression is that a company which once had high climate ambitions has folded due to the aggressive fossil fuel agenda of US president Donald Trump,” said Urgewald insurance expert Anna Lena Samborski.
The group called on the company to end its investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. MunichRe had a chance to clarify that “there must be no backtracking on climate action at a time when the world is burning.” Ending its fossil fuel investments would be an important step in this regard, Samborski said.
Insurance lobby group GDV said earlier this year that climate-related damage claims rose sharply in 2024. Claims worth 2.6 billion euros were recorded in Germany last year, around one billion euros more than the long-term average.
