Mothers outside Lloyd’s of London on Father’s Day to protest against insuring new fossil fuel projects.
Mothers Rise Up is a small but mighty team of women using smart, creative tactics to persuade corporate goliath – Lloyd’s of London – to stop fuelling the climate crisis. The mothers’ colourful, joyful, artistic approaches have secured global media coverage and inspired thousands of parents.
The Campaign
Mothers Rise Up is a women-led team using creativity and culture to persuade corporate insurance goliath, Lloyd’s of London, to stop insuring new fossil fuels. Its colourful, cutting-edge approaches have secured global media coverage and inspired thousands of parents. The group has also established a dialogue with Lloyd’s employees and, as part of the Insure Our Future campaign, contributed to building pressure on key fossil fuel enablers.
Mothers Rise Up aims to turn despair at climate breakdown into determination to act for the sake of all kids. The mothers use cultural hooks to engage parents and corporate employees alike: from a viral Mary Poppins-themed flash mob, Bake Off-inspired renewable energy cakes, a cricket-themed advent calendar with a fossil fuel backdrop, and a classical climate dance outside Lloyd’s. Through joy-filled actions, the group has shone a spotlight on a critical, but often overlooked, lever to tackle climate breakdown: the insurance sector.
Vibrant Mary Poppins dance flash mob outside Lloyd’s of London offices, choreographed by Denni Sayers.
Mothers Rise Up are delighted to have been shortlisted, alongside other inspiring change-makers. Our small team of women aim to transform despair at the climate crisis into determination to act through joy-filled, colourful, smart, creative campaigns. It keeps us going, builds our community, and is having an impact.”
Maya Mailer
Vibrant Mary Poppins dance flash mob outside Lloyd’s of London offices, choreographed by Denni Sayers.
Mothers Rise Up are delighted to have been shortlisted, alongside other inspiring change-makers. Our small team of women aim to transform despair at the climate crisis into determination to act through joy-filled, colourful, smart, creative campaigns. It keeps us going, builds our community, and is having an impact.”
Maya Mailer
The Change
Mothers Rise Up has inspired parents across the UK and globe, to take climate action. The group has opened up conversations with powerful corporate employees, drawing on the unifying frame of love for our children, by deploying personalised, creative, and heartfelt outreach to top management.
The mothers play a key role in the Insure Our Future global campaign, which has secured significant wins, such as persuading major insurance companies to introduce oil and gas exclusion policies. Without insurance coverage, fossil fuel projects cannot go ahead, making insurance the Achilles’ heel of the fossil fuel industry. Mothers Rise Up focuses on the Lloyd’s marketplace.
The group has partnered with The South Bristol Climate Hub community group, sending more than 100 personalised letters to Lloyd’s executives and employees asking them to stop insuring dangerous new coal, oil, and gas projects. Many replied, opening another line of pressure and communication.
While Lloyd’s is difficult to shift, there is positive momentum in the marketplace. Some 12 Lloyd’s insurers have ruled out insuring the devastating East African Crude Oil Pipeline that would destroy communities and nature across Tanzania and Uganda. The mothers have also secured face-to-face meetings with top Lloyd’s management.
The Future
Mothers Rise Up will continue to use creative, smart approaches to inspire parents to take climate action and persuade insurers to make courageous choices. Through their underwriting choices, insurance companies can play a critical role in accelerating a fair transition to a world powered by safe, renewable energy.
But Lloyd’s continues to be the single largest source of fossil fuel insurance globally, enabling some of the most damaging projects from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Arctic drilling. If the world’s biggest, oldest marketplace were to shift in line with science, it would make a huge contribution to ending fossil fuel expansion.
That is why Mothers Rise Up is determined to keep pushing Lloyd’s, in solidarity with affected communities and out of love for our kids and precious planet. The world’s children need action now: later is too late.
Who else was involved?
Mothers Rise Up is part of the global Insure Our Future campaign alongside Coal Action Network, Eko, Quakers of Britain, Reclaim Finance, StopEACOP and many others. It also collaborates with Parents For Future UK, Extinction Rebellion Families, Mums For Lungs, Mothers Can, Mothers Rebellion and the global Our Kids’ Climate network and parent-climate groups worldwide.
