AXIS Capital has confirmed in a letter to the Gwich’in Steering Committee – an organization formed by Alaska’s Gwich’in Indian Nation to preserve the environment – that it will not provide insurance coverage or investment support to projects related to exploration, drilling, or the production of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

AXIS Capital is the third international insurance firm, after AXA and Swiss Re, to make such a commitment, and the first North American firm to commit to not supporting oil and gas exploitation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“We believe climate-related risks are among the most serious issues facing the world today,” Conrad Brooks, general counsel and corporate secretary for AXIS Capital, wrote in the letter. “We also recognize the importance of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the [Gwich’in] and your families, as well as our planet.”