Nippon Life Insurance to end coal power investment

By Olivia Minnock
Japanese Life Insurance Company Nippon Life Insurance Co has announced it will stop lending and investment activity in coal-fired p...

Japanese Life Insurance Company Nippon Life Insurance Co has announced it will stop lending and investment activity in coal-fired power plants.

The decision is based on ‘environmental concerns’ according to Business Green and as such Nippon has become the first major Japanese investment company to divest from coal in this way.

According to Reuters, Yusuke Takaishi, deputy manager for finance and investment planning at Nippon, said: “We have decided to stop investment and lending to coal-fired power projects at home and overseas.

See also:

Ireland becomes first country to divest from fossil fuels

Allianz commits to eliminating insurance coverage for coal plants

Read the latest issue of Energy Digital

“There are discussions among institutional investors, mainly those in Europe and the US, on how to deal with the issue of climate change and we are part of those discussions. Our decision on coal power is just one result of our ongoing discussions on climate change and we are not just considering coal,” he added.

Business Green has reported that up to 50 Japanese corporates will join the R100 initiative, which outlines the aim to use solely renewable energy by 2050.

Nippon Life Insurance company is the largest Japanese life insurance company in terms of revenue. Headquartered in Osaka, the company was founded in 1889 and currently has around 70,000 employees.

Share

Featured Articles

Earth Day 2024: Renewable Energy Key To Sustainable Future

Celebrated annually on 22 April, Earth Day 2024’s main theme centres around ‘People vs Plastics’ but also looks at sustainability as a whole

What's Apple’s Promise on Clean Energy and Water Investment?

Tech giant Apple is working to increase its sustainable output, supporting more than 18GW of clean energy use & billions of gallons in water savings

Data Centre Demand Putting Pressure on Energy Capabilities

Utilities in the US are predicting a tidal wave of demand for data centres thanks to the boom of AI, which, in turn, will dial up the need for electricity

Q&A with Hitachi Energy’s EVP & Head of North America

Sustainability

OMV Takes Strides in Energy Efficiency & Emissions Reduction

Sustainability

Q&A with RAIN Alliance President and CEO Aileen Ryan

Technology & AI