Divest for health! Health insurers are finally starting to wake up to the health impacts of fossil fuels and the resulting impacts of climate change following clarion calls on the issue from medical bodies around the world, including the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of Physicians. The World Health Organisation has predicted that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Health insurance funds have led the broader divestment out of tobacco and in many cases munitions, acknowledging the hypocrisy of investing in products which threaten human health. Now it’s time for all Australia’s health insurers to ditch dirty fossil fuels for exactly the same reason.
Update: Three of Australia’s four biggest private health insurers, HCF, NIB and Medibank have all begun the process of divesting from fossil fuels:
◦ Medibank has divested its international share portfolio of fossil fuels and shifted its Australia shares to a “low-carbon” product. It says it has reduced its carbon exposure in its equity (shares) portfolio by 40-50% since 2017.
◦ HCF has dumped fossil fuels from their international share portfolios, but so far has done nothing about its Australian shares’ exposure to health-destroying coal, oil and gas.
◦ NIB has divested from primarily thermal coal and tar sands companies across both international and Australian share portfolios, but remains invested in other fossil fuels.
Three other funds, Latrobe Health Services, Doctors Health Fund and Westfund have confirmed that they are not invested in fossil fuels.
◦ Take action! Complete this form to demand your health insurer divests from fossil fuels now.
◦ Do you have private health insurance? Contact your fund and ask them to divest!