UK insurer Aviva aims to invest £500m ($780m) in renewable energy and energy efficiency in each of the next five years.
"We think these are good investments – with good returns for our investors," said CEO Mark Wilson.
"An estimated $13.8trn of global assets, discounted to present day value, are at risk if global temperatures rise by an average of 6°C," he said in the foreword to a new report Aviva's strategic response to climate change.
"If we do not take urgent action to limit global temperature increases to within 2°C, the impacts upon the economy, society and our business will be nothing short of devastating," he added.
"Left unchecked, climate change will continue to affect the actuarial assumptions underpinning the insurance products that our industry provides," the report concludes. "It will also render significant proportions of the economy uninsurable, shrinking our addressable market."
The insurer, which manages assets of more than £246bn, said it will invest its own money as well as that of its clients, and that the focus will be on energy infrastructure in Europe.
In addition to this commitment to low-carbon investments, the report said Aviva will also engage with companies in which it invests to help them develop "climate-resilient business strategies". Where necessary, it said, it will divest from highly carbon-intensive fossil-fuel companies.
Aviva has identified 40 companies in which it invests, which generate more than 30% of their revenues from thermal coal mining or coal power generation. "These 40 companies will form the basis of well-resourced and focused initial engagement over the next 12 months," it said.
"Where we consider companies are not making sufficient progress towards the engagement goals, we will withdraw our capital," it warned.
The report also reiterated the company's pledge to embed carbon risk into its investment decisions. In 2012 it committed to integrate environmental, social and governance issues into all its investment decisions. More than 90% of assets are now managed in this way, up from 80% in 2013, the report said.
Aviva's commitments follow a pledge by French insurer Axa to sell its coal assets by the end of the year (IAR, 26 May).