AXA axes 500 mln euros of coal investments

PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - French insurer AXA (Paris: FR0000120628 - news) said on Friday it was cutting its exposure to the coal industry, pulling out of investments worth 500 million euros ($552.7 million).

Europe's No. 2 insurer joins a growing list of financial companies that have decided to spurn the coal industry over environmental concerns.

"AXA has decided to divest from the companies most exposed to coal-related activities for the assets managed internally. This initiative represents a divestment of 0.5 billion euros," AXA Chief Executive Henri de Castries said in a statement.

He did not specify which investments AXA had sold or would sell.

The company also said it was tripling its environmentally friendly investments with the aiming of reaching 3 billion euros by 2020 for the insurer's general account.

AXA's decision to axe coal investments comes two days after French bank Credit Agricole said it had decided to stop financing coal mining and miners.

Bank of America said earlier this month it was cutting back its lending to the coal industry, while French bank Societe Generale (Paris: FR0000130809 - news) said it was restricting its exposure to the sector.

However oil major Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) 's Chief Executive Ben van Beurden on Thursday slammed as a "red herring" calls for investors to divest from energy companies as part of the fight against climate change.

($1 = 0.9064 euros) (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by David Holmes)