Our local government has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying our future, and reinvest in solutions to climate change. We can not count on the federal government, even as extreme weather events like the record rain fall in the Duluth area last Spring overwhelm local budgets. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. The bottom line is this: divestment is the only moral choice for governments that care about their citizens. Solving the climate crisis is the only practical choice for governments that care about their solvency. It's time to divest from fossil fuels now!

Recente berekeningen laten zien dat 80% van de bewezen reserves van de fossiele brandstof industrie (kolen, olie, gas) niet verbrand kunnen worden willen we de gemiddelde temperatuurstijging beperken tot de internationaal afgesproken 2 graden Celsius. Investeringen in deze voorraden zijn dus kwetsbaar; de dreigende koolstof bubbel. Fossiele industrie draagt direct bij aan klimaatverandering. Profiteren van fossiele brandstoffen is daarom niet alleen economisch onverstandig maar ook moreel verwerpelijk. Bovendien is het niet nodig. De hernieuwbare energie sector groeit erg snel. Hierin investeren zal innovatie en werkgelegenheid stimuleren. Met het oog op de VN klimaatonderhandelingen in december in Parijs (COP21) kan Amsterdam een voorbeeld stellen. Door te divesteren en te herinvesteren kan de Gemeente Amsterdam laten zien dat zij ook daadwerkelijk voor de belangen van haar jongste inwoners staat.

Det mangler ikke store ord og tanker om hva Norge skal drive med for å nå våre klimamål. Men i et samfunn som fortsatt går på oljesmurt høygir mangler det konkret handling innen nye fornybare verdikjeder. Det drives noe forskning og utvikling, men uten en stor industriell aktør med finansiell kraft til å gjennomføre de riktige prosjektene stopper de fleste initiativene opp. Dette gjør at studenter som har utdannet seg til å jobbe innen fornybar energi ikke har en reell mulighet til å jobbe med det de brenner for, men blir i stedet sluset inn i godt betalte petroleums jobber. Når også petroleumsindustrien begynner å møte motbakke og går til oppsigelser haster det mer enn noen gang med å få på plass nye næringer. De fleste ønsker å bruke arbeidslivet til noe som gir mening og som bidrar til en bedre framtid. At en del av Norges befolkning skal jobbe med petroleumsaktiviteter i mange år ses på som naturlig, men der er det ikke jobb for alle. Det haster derfor med å få på plass en satsning innen fornybar energi som kan skape arbeidsplasser for en grønn generasjon. Basert på vår energihistorie har hel, eller deleide statlige selskaper spilt en avgjørende rolle i etableringen av nye næringer. Vi tror at opprettelsen av Greenstat vil kunne bidra positivt til den grønne omleggingen vi ønsker.

Die Klimakrise und ihre Folgen stellen eine akute Gefahr für unsere Gesellschaften dar. Die globale Temperatur steigt kontinuierlich an. Schon heute sind die zerstörerischen Folgen dieser Entwicklung auch bei uns spürbar. Dazu gehören immer mehr extreme Hitzeperioden in europäischen Städten genauso wie die Jahrhundertfluten, die inzwischen alle 10 Jahre auftreten. Bei der “Jahrhundertflut” 2013 waren neun Bundesländer betroffen, in 55 Landkreisen musste Katastrophenalarm ausgerufen werden, Zehntausende Menschen mussten für Wochen ihre Wohnungen verlassen. Das Klima verändert sich buchstäblich vor unseren Augen. Beinahe alle Regierungen der Welt stimmen heute überein, dass eine Erwärmung um mehr als 2°C gefährlich wäre und durch katastrophale Rückkopplungen dazu führen könnte, dass auf unserem Planeten menschliches Leben unmöglich wird. Gleichzeitig bleiben uns nur noch weniger als 10 Jahre die entscheidenden Schritte einzuleiten um das 2° Ziel noch zu erreichen und eine sich immer weiter selbst verstärkende Erwärmung zu verhindern. Dazu müssen wir dafür sorgen, dass 80% aller heute bekannten Vorkommen fossiler Brennstoffe unter der Erde bleiben. Erdölkonzerne erschließen jedoch immer schneller die bestehenden Vorkommen und geben gleichzeitig Milliarden aus, um immer mehr fossile Brennstoffe zu finden. Wenn wir so weitermachen wie bisher, ist die Welt auf bestem Wege, fünfmal soviel fossile Brennstoffe zu verbrennen wie laut vorsichtigen Schätzungen „sicher“ wären.

Our local government has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying our future. We can reinvest in solutions to climate change! For more about my work on Climate Change as I prepare to become a Bar Mitzvah please visit: yitzchakadin.wordpress.com. We can not count on action by the federal government. We as individuals, citizens, and members of other organizations need to act also. Extreme weather events are overwhelming local budgets across our country. Nuclear power is no better--not only is it nuclear (and therefore terrible, which should be obvious)--fossil fuels are used heavily in its production and in attempts to minimize the hazard of storing nuclear waste. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. The bottom line is this: divestment is the only moral choice for governments that care about their citizens. Solving the climate crisis is the only practical choice for governments that care about their solvency. It's time to divest from fossil fuels and nuclear power now!

The climate crisis is a profound threat to the Puget Sound region and the world. Fossil fuel companies possess proven reserves that would release approximately 2,795 gigatons of CO2, or five times the amount releasable without exceeding 2°C of warming, which the 2009 Copenhagen Accord indicated would be untenable for life as we know it. Seattle has been a national leader on the environment, and was the first city nationwide to commit to divestment; it's critical that we continue to lead the way.

Powys County Council has a duty to look out for the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with the public good: investing in them poses a risk both to investors and to our communities. PCC must take a moral, political and economic stand against them by taking our money away from fossil fuel companies and putting it into investments that are less at risk from climate change legislation and more compatible with our values. Divestment from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Powys wish to support an alternative, sustainable energy future that will leave our towns, villages and rural areas in a shape that allows us, our children and grandchildren to live safely in them. Financial research has called into question the valuations of fossil fuel companies due to their reliance on reserves which may become unburnable if carbon legislation comes into effect. So it's a question of our secure economic future as well. Join an international movement to demand divestment as a powerful, effective response to the realities of Climate Change. And protect the money of Powys, our money, from a bad investment.

Malmö Stad har en viktig föregångsroll som miljöförebild i Sverige och bör därför självklart divestera även sina stiftelsers pengar ur kol, olja och gas.

Today fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) stand for the biggest amount of negative impact on our climate and planet by far measures. 95% of the world's researchers have reached a consensus on the fact that climate change is mainly due to human activity. Therefore, change can happen and needs to happen now. And we need to be a vital part of that change which is the national movement Fossil Free Sweden; hence be a part of the solution for a more sustainable world. There is already a Fossil Free Lund University Campaign launched and we need to make this change happen on all levels.

There is a worldwide movement which focuses on leaving as much of the earth's carbon reserves as possible in the ground. Scientists have done the simple math. We have increased the temperature by less than 1 degree Celsius and it is hard to imagine what life will be like when we reach 2 degrees Celsius. We can release up to 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels and stay below 2 degrees C of warming. If we burn more than that we risk catastrophe for life on earth. Fossil fuel corporations how have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves - five times the safe amount. If fuel companies carry out their stated missions by utilizing the known reserves they currently own or have rights to, Earth will become inhospitable to life as we know it.

Our local authority has a duty to look out for the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with the public good: investing in them poses a risk both to investors and to the planet. So Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council should take a moral, political and economic stand against them by taking our money away from fossil fuel companies and putting it into investments that are less at risk from climate change legislation and more compatible with our values. Divestment from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Oxfordshire wish to support an alternative, sustainable energy future that will leave the planet in a shape that allows us, our children and grandchildren to live safely on it. Financial research has called into question the valuations of fossil fuel companies due to their reliance on reserves which may become unburnable if carbon legislation comes into effect.

THE BURNING OF FOSSIL FUELS IS DESTROYING THE CLIMATE. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere on May 10 2013 reached 400 ppm, the highest level in human history, caused in large part by the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel corporations have 5 times more oil, coal and gas in known reserves than climate scientists think is safe to burn. EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS UNDERLINE THE URGENCY OF THE ISSUE. In just the last year, the US. has struggled to contend with extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy, the Midwest drought and the Colorado wildfire. These events are serious reminders of the need to take bold action to curb climate change now. The impacts on Massachusetts' coastal communities and economy due to climate-related shifts will lead to billions of dollars of loss in the future. DIVESTMENT FROM FOSSIL FUELS IS A MORAL ISSUE Just like in the movements to divest from the tobacco industry or to end Apartheid in South Africa, climate change is a deeply moral issue. Nationwide, colleges, religious organizations, cities, and states are campaigning for divestment from fossil fuels on moral grounds: If it’s wrong to wreck the planet, then it’s also wrong to profit from that wreckage. INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS PRESENTS RISK. A report released by the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the London School of Economics shows that 60 to 80 percent of coal, oil and gas reserves held by the top 200 oil, gas and mining companies listed on the world’s stock exchanges could be considered unburnable and therefore far less valuable than thought. The value of fossil fuel investments is predicted to implode, bursting the “carbon bubble. INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS STUNTS MASSACHUSETTS’ OTHER GREEN EFFORTS. By investing in clean energy and energy efficiency, Massachusetts has shown the nation that we can reduce our impact on the climate while creating jobs. Investment in fossil fuels stunts those efforts. Big oil spends $167,000 daily lobbying the U.S. Congress, frequently to block clean energy solutions. On the other hand, divestment from fossil fuels is a logical extension of the Commonwealth’s consistently Green leadership. It’s time to invest in our future.