AV. Aviva Plc

By Maitane Sardon

Aviva PLC on Monday pledged to become a net-zero company by 2040 by aligning emissions from its investments and the companies it insures with the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The FTSE 100-listed insurer and pension provider said it plans to cut by 25% the carbon intensity of its investments over the next four years. Its goal, it said, is to slash by 60% the amount of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour derived from its investments by 2030.

The company is also targeting net-zero emissions from its operations and supply chain by 2030, it added.

To achieve those targets, Aviva, which has some 522 billion pounds ($726.7 billion) in assets under management, said it will increase its green investments and reduce its exposure to the coal industry.

Aviva plans to divest from all coal companies that make more than 5% of their revenue from coal by 2022. It also plans to stop underwriting insurance for such companies by the end of 2021.

However, it said it will make exceptions for companies that set decarbonization targets in line with scientists' recommendations by signing up to the United Nations-backed Science Based Targets Initiative--an independent auditor that some 1,200 companies have joined.

"We have a huge responsibility to change the way we invest, insure and serve our customers," Chief Executive Amanda Blanc said.

Additionally, Aviva said it plans to increase its green investments. This includes investing GBP10 billion of assets from some of its policyholder funds into low-carbon strategies over the next two years and GBP6 billion in green assets such as climate-transition funds over the next five years, it said.

Aviva added that emission reductions will make up the majority of its shift to net-zero. It said it plans to invest GBP100 million over the next decade to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with nature-based solutions. This includes projects to restore forests and wetlands as a way to preserve ecosystems and capture greenhouse gases.

Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 01, 2021 06:11 ET (11:11 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.