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Hannover Re has become the fifth insurer to reject East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), joining Swiss Re, Axa, Zurich and SCOR in publicly committing that they will not underwrite the pipeline.

After SCOR committed not to insure EACOP last month, Hannover Re quickly followed suit, stating, “we refrain from providing reinsurance coverage for EACOP due to noncompliance with our ESG expectations. EACOP has been put on an exclusion list about a year ago and our facultative underwriters have been informed accordingly.”

Environmental activists and aggrieved stakeholders allege that the EACOP, a 1,443km crude oil export pipeline that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale – Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga port in Tanzania, is environmentally untenable and will extend to protected areas in East Africa without due regard to livelihoods, gender, food security, children, and public health of East Africans. They further allege that the pipeline will pass through areas of settlements, farmlands, and water sources for thousands of indigenous people and there has been no consideration of their rights, which is a violation of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.

Global banks, including HSBC, Mizuho, ANZ, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale and Unicredit have opted out of providing financing for the project.