Originally published by Insure Our Future
More than 70 organisations from over 20 countries across six continents are urging the biggest global insurance and reinsurance groups to stop providing insurance for fossil fuel projects and fossil gas expansion in Southeast Asia’s Coral Triangle due to the risks posed to the most biodiverse marine area on Earth.1
The organisations, which include Insure Our Future, Greenpeace, Laudato Si’ Movement, 350.org and Oil Change International, are calling on 30 of the world’s leading (re)insurers and the managing agents operating in the Lloyd’s of London market2 to protect communities and biodiversity by stopping their underwriting and investment in fossil fuel projects in the Coral Triangle.3
There are currently 113 oil and gas fields operating in the Coral Triangle, which spans the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The gas fields feed 19 LNG terminals, but there are plans to develop at least 27 more.4
The letter warns that many of these terminals are close to or within UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Marine Protected Areas, including coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds. The rich biodiversity of the region is home to three quarters of known global coral species and provides critical natural infrastructure, reducing storm, flood, and coastal risk.
The Coral Triangle supports the livelihoods of more than 360 million people in the region and underpins global seafood systems. Its reefs, mangroves, and seagrass ecosystems provide natural coastal protection, reducing disaster losses across typhoon-prone economies and strengthening climate resilience.5
Anj Dacanay from the Centre for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) Philippines says:
“Insurers cannot turn a blind eye to the impact of the activities they insure on nature, especially when it comes to the impacts of LNG expansion in this precious part of the world. The rich biodiversity of the Coral Triangle is critical for people living in the region, and critical for our living world. Insurers must introduce a no-go zone for fossil fuel developers in the Coral Triangle and take steps to ensure they are not supporting the destruction of critical biodiversity elsewhere.”
Southeast Asian countries are some of the most impacted by the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. This is a critical moment for insurers to recognize the role they play in shaping climate and nature risks, and to proactively support a just and secure energy transition, by redirecting underwriting and investment toward renewable energy systems that are affordable, reliable, and equitable.
“From the Strait of Hormuz to the Coral Triangle, fossil fuel expansion is driving geopolitical volatility, supply chain shocks and biodiversity loss, as well as escalating climate-driven damages and human rights impacts. Reinsurers are not only exposed to these systemic risks, they are actively amplifying them by continuing to underwrite and invest in new oil and gas expansion across the value chain. In a world of compounding crises, credible risk management requires a rapid phase-out of fossil fuel expansion. The sector now faces a clear and urgent choice: act now to drive the energy transition, or continue underwriting and financing rising systemic instability.”, Isabelle L’Héritier from the Insure Our Future global coalition.
“Protecting the Coral Triangle requires an immediate binding exclusion on insurance, reinsurance and investment for all new and expanded fossil gas projects across the full value chain. This must be matched by a global stop to fossil gas expansion in high-biodiversity and protected areas, alongside robust requirements for respect for human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ Free, Prior and Informed Consent, with clear escalation and withdrawal mechanisms where these standards are not met.”
- The “Coral Triangle” refers to the scientific definition of the Coral Triangle (see here). For more information on the unique biodiversity see here: https://global.insure-our-future.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/LNG-Expansions-VF-faces-pages.pdf
↩︎ - The letter has been sent to: AIG, Allianz, Aviva, AXA, Chubb, Generali, Hannover Re, HDI-Talanx, Helvetia, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd’s of London Managing Agents, Munich Re, MS&AD, QBE, SCOR, Sompo, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine, Travelers, WR Berkley and Zurich. ↩︎
- Demands letter and signatories: https://global.insure-our-future.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/FINAL-Demands-letter-to-reinsurers-Protect-the-Coral-Triangle-stop-fossil-gas-expansion-and-reduce-systemic-risk-exposure-1.pdf ↩︎
- See: https://earth-insight.org/report/coral-triangle-threats-impacts/ ↩︎
- Coral Triangle Initiative: https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/coral-triangle-initiative#:~:text=The%20Coral%20Triangle%20Initiative%20on,of%20these%20ecosystems%20is%20critical ↩︎