AXA Releases Climate and Biodiversity Report 2022
AXA announced the release of the seventh edition of its Climate and Biodiversity Report. This report complies with legal requirements for extra-financial reporting, including the first year of implementation of the new article 29 of the French Climate Law, as well as the voluntary approach of two initiatives in which AXA plays a leading role: the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), both of which will be launched in June 2021.
AXA addresses the several components of its activities to combat climate change and safeguard biodiversity in its report: governance, strategy, risk management, and quantitative indications of the impact of its actions.
The report's key metric, "global warming potential," which evaluates the Group's investments on global warming by 2050, continues to improve. In 2021, it stood at 2.6°C, down 0.1°C and below the market (2.9°C).
Its calculation model was strengthened in 2020 by integrating, for example, scope 3 emissions. The analysis also shows a significant reduction in AXA's investment portfolio's carbon footprint, with a 29 per cent drop in 2021 compared to 2019.
Finally, the number of green investments was set at 22.6 billion euros, which is close to the aim of 26 billion euros for 2023. The report thus outlines the change trajectory that has thus far been initiated but also emphasises the efforts that must still be made to expedite it.
The report, which is new this year, explains AXA's efforts to protect biodiversity and its support for the establishment of the TNFD. Nature now accounts for more than half of the world's economic output. The TNFD's goal is, therefore, to focus capital flows toward investments in the sectors that benefit ecosystems and ensure that each actor incorporates this risk into their activities.
AXA is leading the way, reporting on its initial actions in this area in terms of commitment (policy to prevent deforestation through its investments and insurance activities) and testing new indicators (corporate biodiversity footprint).
The terms scope 1, scope 2 or scope 3 are used in the context of a product or organisation's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report. Scope 3 includes the indirect impacts of an entity, which do not result from its operations but from sources it does not own or control, upstream of its activities (purchase of IT equipment, office equipment, car fleet, catering, employee travel, etc.).
Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA, said:
"AXA has been a pioneer in the fight against global warming and the protection of biodiversity. This report shows that our knowledge of these major issues has grown and that our actions are producing concrete results. The continuous decrease in the 'warming potential' of our investments is a very positive sign, as every tenth of a degree counts in the fight against climate change. However, it shows the extent of the efforts we must make collectively to achieve the objectives of the Paris climate agreement by 2050."
Source: AXA
