• Hertfordshire County Council: Divest your funds invested in fossil fuel industries
    More CO2 in the atmosphere means more extreme weather events that could leave millions of people displaced from their homes. Our government committed to a legally binding climate deal to help prevent this. It's time to break free from fossil fuels and invest in clean energy, for everyone's future. 1. Hertfordshire County Council Pension Fund has around £140,000,000 invested in fossil fuel industries, including BG Group PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Rio Tinto PLC. 2. The pension fund affects over 180 employers in Hertfordshire including Hertfordshire County Council (including schools), North Herts District Council, Dacorum Borough Council, East Hertfordshire District Council, Hertsmere Borough Council. Broxbourne Borough Council, St Albans District Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council, Watford Borough Council and a range of community and voluntary groups. See here for list http://divestherts.org/ 3. 97% of climate scientists agree that humans are the primary cause of recent climate change, largely due to the release of greenhouse gases from the combustion of oil, coal and gas for heat and power. Global warming is happening now - it is not a thing of the future; thanks to our appetite for fossil fuels we’ve already experienced a global temperature rise of about 1°C since the Industrial Revolution.[1] The effects of this rise in temperature are already being felt, causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events, including more tropical storms in some areas, but drought in others. Climatic changes and oceans becoming more acidic due to absorbing excess carbon dioxide present a real threat to whole ecosystems. It’s not just bad for the environment, it’s putting people's lives at risk too due to food and water insecurity and is creating climate change refugees.[2] 4. In order to stop the global climate warming by another 2 °C, 80% of all known fossil fuels must stay in the ground.[3] However, despite all the evidence showing that we need to transition to cleaner forms of energy, fossil fuel companies are continuing to extract dirty fossil fuels, and making huge profits in the process.[4] 5. Investments in fossil fuels are also risky. Recent fluctuations in oil prices means that divesting from fossil fuels would minimise the council's exposure to the financial risk of the 'carbon bubble', whereby companies risk being left with stranded assets (worthless fuel stocks that regulation will prevent from being burned). People and institutions that own shares in the companies will see the value of their investments decrease. (5) 6. By removing investments in these companies Hertfordshire County Council will be showing its commitment to creating a healthy, sustainable future for both the people of Hertfordshire and the planet as a whole. 7. Institutions across the world including churches and universities, as well as local authorities in the UK such as Bristol City Council and Oxford City Council have already committed to divest from fossil fuels. [6] Let's see Hertfordshire join them in making this small but impactful commitment. [1] http://350.org/about/science/ [2] http://climatemigration.org.uk/about-us/ [3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30709211 [4] http://priceofoil.org/tag/fossil-fuel-industry-profits/ [5] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28f00388-0df3-11e5-9a65-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3mHL64WyD [6]http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/
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  • Islington Council: Divest from Fossil Fuels
    Climate change is the most pressing problem facing humanity. We want to protect this planet so it remains for our children and grandchildren. We can start by asking our local council to take its money out of fossil fuels - currently £59.5 million. Local government has a duty to act for the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with this: investing in them threatens the planet and poses a risk to investors. Financial research has called into question the valuations of fossil fuel companies as they rely on reserves which must remain unburned if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. Islington Council should take a prudent economic decision and a moral stand by moving our money away from risky fossil fuel investments. Divestment from fossil fuels makes a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and financially unviable, and that the people of Islington want a sustainable future.
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  • Fossil Free NHMU
    Over 54,000 people have signed on the national campaign asking 5 museums, of which the Utah Natural History Museum (UNMH) is one, to divest from fossil fuels. http://gofossilfree.org/museums/ This moment calls for leaders that are ready to do more than observe and curate history — it calls for leaders who are ready to help make it. We believe museums can be those leaders. The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, The Field Museum in Chicago, The Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburg, The London Museum of Science, and The Australian Academy of Sciences have already taking this important step of divestment. In addition to fossil fuel divestment growing internationally, www.BreakFree2016.org is a global project that is coordinating a global wave of escalated direct actions to stop some of the largest fossil fuel projects in the world. 2016 could be a turning point in the climate justice movement. Faculty and students at the University of Utah are ready for this moment and have been campaigning since 2012 to have the University of Utah to divest from fossil fuels: https://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/Fossil_Free_UUtah. In May 2015 the Academic Senate made the recommendation to create a policy that would support fossil fuel divestment and in March 2016 this recommendation was further supported with a timeline for September 2016: http://www.boarddocs.com/ut/uutah/asop/Board.nsf/files/A8JUX87A9B14/$file/Ad%20Hoc%20Re-Investment%20Dialogue%20Committee%20Report%20-%20March%202016.pdf This timeline will coincide with activists from around the world escalating pressure on global leaders to maintain a 2 degree limit in warming, keep 80% of the Fossil Fuels in the ground and create a just transition to renewables by 2050. We are prepared to celebrate divestment at the U of U or escalate our tactics along with www.breakfree2016.org. If you haven't read this Open Letter to Museums yet, please take a look and consider how urgent it is to create economic decisions that reflect our public sustainability missions: http://thenaturalhistorymuseum.org/open-letter-to-museums-from-scientists/
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  • Urge Auckland Council to Divest from Fossil Fuels!
    Climate change is happening now, driven by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more severe, with temperatures in Pakistan reaching 49°C earlier this year, resulting in the loss of over 2000 lives. Extreme monsoons have delivered more than three times normal rainfall to parts of India causing loss of life and livelihood for thousands and acidified oceans are killing coral reefs and putting pressure on fish stocks worldwide. The fossil fuel industry has enough coal, oil and gas in their reserves to breach the IPPC’s agreed-upon 2°C limit 5 times over. It’s time for our council to end their support of the fossil fuel extraction industry. The city of Auckland stands to lose a lot in the face of climate change: Much of Auckland’s CBD and coastline risks being swallowed up by rising seas. Wine-grape and kiwifruit growing around Auckland will be history and the frequency of “one in twenty year” rainfall events could quadruple - putting a great strain on our storm water infrastructure. We urge the Auckland council to show solidarity to Auckland businesses and the community by taking their money out of fossil fuels.
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  • Divest Waltham Forest
    Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has encountered. Warming in excess of 2°C will have catastrophic consequences for the whole planet [1]. If global warming is to be limited to 2°C, a level already considered dangerous, up to 80% of known carbon reserves must be left in the ground [2] The fossil fuel industry currently holds vast carbon reserves, which, if burnt, would result in emissions 5 times larger than what it is deemed to be safe [3]. All available evidence suggests that fossil fuel companies intend to burn the reserves within their control [4]. In addition, companies such as Shell are actively trying to discover new reserves, often in environmentally sensitive regions [5]. Research conducted by Carbon Tracker shows that there has been an over-valuation of fossil fuel reserves held by fossil fuel companies. 2/3 of these fossil fuels must remain in the ground if countries are to meet internationally agreed targets. These fossil fuels are, in effect, unburnable, so therefore worthless, which will lead to massive market losses. This is the “Carbon Bubble”. [6] Fossil fuel-free investments are now outperforming more conventional fossil fuel investments. According to recent reports, fossil fuel-free investments “earned an average return of 1.2% more a year over the last five years” [7] when compared with fossil fuel investments. Waltham Forest Council exists to serve the people of the borough, and it should therefore acknowledge the significant risks that fossil fuel investments pose to local residents' financial security and future quality of life. The council should therefore take a moral, political and economic stand by divesting its money from fossil fuel companies and choosing investments less at risk from climate change legislation and more compatible with the local community’s values. Waltham Forest Council should use its money to reinvest in, and support development of, solutions to climate change. As Waltham Forest Council wishes to maximise its return on investment, there are many ethical (and fossil fuel-free) investment options that provide excellent financial returns. Divesting its money away from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Waltham Forest wish to support an alternative, sustainable energy future. By divesting from fossil fuels, Waltham Forest will join public institutions such as the British Medical Association, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Bristol City Council, Oxford City Council, and the Universities of Bedfordshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, and Warwick in leading by example to help create a sustainable future for the citizens of Waltham Forest and beyond. [8] Let's make Waltham Forest fossil-fuel free, and together, we can send a signal that we are ready to shift to an economy powered by renewable energy. References: 1. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf 2. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14016.html 3. http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf 4. http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf 5. http://www.shell.com/global/future-energy/arctic/exploration-production.html 6. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/19/carbon-bubble-financial-crash-crisis & http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf 7. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/10/fossil-fuel-free-funds-out-performed-conventional-ones-analysis-shows 8. http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/
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  • Divest the University of Rochester from Fossil Fuels
    Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.
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  • Essen Raus Aus RWE - Bürgerbrief
    Als Teil einer weltweiten Bewegung setzen wir uns dafür ein, dass Essen jetzt beginnt, klimaschädliche Investitionen zu beenden und klimaneutral zu werden. Mehr Information zur Fossil-Free-Bewegung: http://gofossilfree.org/de/
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  • Divest Barnet's council Pension fund From Fossil fuel Investments.
    The fossil fuel industry currently holds vast carbon reserves which if burnt would result in emissions 5 times larger than what it is deemed to be safe. All available evidence suggests that fossil fuel companies intend to burn the reserves within their control. In addition, companies such as Shell are actively trying to discover new reserves, often in environmentally sensitive region]. For future generations.The use of fossil fuels is damaging the earth to near irreprable limits. 76% of all climate scientists agree. Barnet Borough Council has Invested over £30 million of pension funds in companies that use fossil fuels. These companies are Multi Nationals.Oil companies are not a good Investment at the present time.
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  • Stop der öffentlichen Investitionen in fossile Brennstoffe in Aachen:
    Divest Aachen 24.6.2015, Aachen Sehr geehrter Herr Marcel Phillip, sehr geehrte Ratsmitglieder, die Stadt Aachen hat schon in der Vergangenheit besonderes Engagement im Klimaschutz gezeigt. Dazu gehören die Verflichtung zum Klima-Bündnis, die Unterstützung zur Elektromobilität, die Kostendeckende Vergütung für Solarstrom und das zu gründende Pilotprojekt der Energieeffizienzgenossenschaft (REEG). Nun hat die Stadt wieder die Möglichkeit eine Vorreiterrolle im Klimaschutz einzunehmen und Prestige weiterhin zu gewinnen, wie bei der European Energy Award. Zum Hintergrund: Der kürzlich veröffentlichte neuste Bericht des Weltklimarats spricht eine deutliche Sprache. Wenn wir den Klimawandel wie auf der Klimakonferenz in Kopenhagen beschlossen auf unter 2º Celsius begrenzen wollen, darf der Großteil der fossilen Energiereserven wie Kohle, Öl und Gas nicht verbrannt werden. Alles andere würde eine Destabilisierung des Klimas mit katastrophalen Folgen für Mensch und Natur nach sich ziehen. Laut Weltklimarat, müssen Investitionen in fossile Energieträger jährlich um $30 Milliarden reduziert werden, während Investitionen in kohlenstoffarme Energiegewinnung um $147 Milliarden steigen müssen. Außerdem ist damit zu rechnen, dass Unternehmen im fossilen Sektor in den kommenden Jahren stark an Wert verlieren werden, weil sie ihre Rohstoffvorkommen nicht mehr fördern und verkaufen können. Die Finanzwelt spricht von einer Kohlenstoffblase, die kurz davor ist zu platzen. Damit stellen Investitionen in fossile Energien ein hohes finanzielles Risiko dar. Die jüngsten Verluste von RWE und Eon verdeutlichen bereits heute, dass das Geschäftsmodell des fossilen Sektors nicht zukunftsfähig ist. Studien der Internationalen Energieagentur, der Universität Oxford sowie verschiedener Großbanken wie HSBC oder Citi warnen vor Investitionen in diesem Sektor. Überall auf der Welt beginnen daher Städte, Gemeinden, Kirchen, Universitäten, Stiftungen und andere Institutionen ihre Investments aus den 200 größten Kohle-, Erdöl- und Erdgasunternehmen abzuziehen. Beispielhaft in NRW ist hier die Stadt Münster zu nennen. Ein solches Divestment erreicht zweierlei: Einerseits schützt es vor den Gefahren zukünftiger Wertverluste und sichert so nachhaltig die finanzielle Stabilität Ihrer Stadt. Andererseits entzieht es klimaschädlichen Unternehmen die gesellschaftliche Zustimmung und trägt so zu Wandel bei, der aufgrund der Klimakrise notwendig geworden ist. In den Vereinigten Staaten haben bereits mehr als 25 Städte verbindlich beschlossen ihre Anteile an Unternehmen des fossilen Sektors zu verkaufen. Darunter sind Großstädte wie San Francisco oder Seattle. Dagegen steht die Bewegung in Europa noch am Anfang. In den Niederlanden hat sich die Stadt Boxtel Ende 2013 als erste europäische Stadt verbindlich Divestment verschrieben. Aachen kann nun in Deutschland diese Vorreiterrolle einnehmen und zeigen, dass eine nachhaltige Finanzpolitik mit Rücksicht auf Natur und zukünftige Generationen möglich ist. Die globale Klimakampagne 350.org arbeitet mit Städten, Universitäten, Kirchen und anderen Institutionen in Europa, USA, Australien, Neuseeland, Kanada und Afrika zusammen, um gemeinsam gegen den Klimawandel und für eine lebenswerte Zukunft einzutreten. Mir persönlich ist dieses Anliegen wichtig, weil eine Vorreiterrolle gehört zu einem wichtigen Technologie-Zentrum und zu einer zukunftsorientierten Stadt wie Aachen. Ich hoffe, dass Sie Schritte einleiten, um: 1. Keine neuen Investitionen in fossile Brennstoffe mehr zu tätigen 2. Eigene Anteile an direkten und indirekten Investments innerhalb der nächsten 5 Jahre abzustoßen. Dazu gehören Aktien, Mischfonds, Unternehmensanleihen und sonstiges Kapital das Erdöl-, Erdgas- und Kohleunternehmen beinhaltet. Ich freue mich auf die Zusammenarbeit mit Ihnen und stehe Ihnen für Rückfragen zur Verfügung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Gary Evans B.Sc Ansprechpartner Divest Aachen http://gofossilfree.org/de/ Tel: 024151857670 Quellenangaben 1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/ 2. Artikel zum Finanzrisiko Kohlenstoffblase in der Zeit: http://www.zeit.de/2014/08/carbon-bubble-rohstoff-blase 3. Internationale Energieagentur. World Energy Outlook 2012: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/German.pdf 4. Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, Oxford. Stranded Assets Programme http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research/stranded-assets/ 5. HSBC, Coal and Carbon - Stranded assets: Assessing the risks https://www.research.hsbc.com/midas/Res/RDV?p=pdf&key=dXwE9bC8qs&n=333473.PDF 6. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/19/carbon-bubble-financial-crash-crisis 7. Liste der Top 200 Kohle-, Erdöl-, Erdgasunternehmen weltweit: https://docs.google.com/a/350.org/spreadsheets/d/1an9qOSE2uG4XuzeA4ltUVadDawheTWdJGKRpU5ayCJk/pubhtml
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  • Make Palawan, Philippines Coal-Free
    We, the Concerned People of Palawan and supporters, implore your good heart to listen to our pleas to stop the construction of coal-fired power plants, specifically, DMCI's project, in Narra, Palawan. We do not want the use of fossil fuels in our province now or in the future. Our opposition to the coal-fired power plants is not brought by sentimental reasons or fear of change. Our opposition is backed by worldwide experience and science that coal-burning power plants are the biggest source of carbon emissions, pose grave threat to the health of the people, and speed up global warming. Global Warming is a phenomenon that wreaks havoc to the environment and brings us highly destructive weather patterns like Yolanda (Hainan). The Bureau of Mines and Geosciences of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has identified the municipality of Narra as highly susceptible to landslides and flooding and any minute change in the sea level, weather pattern and environment poses enumerable danger to us, Narra residents. Knowing these natural hazards, a coal power plant that emits poisonous gases, with its accompanying coal ash pond and slurry on our shores, is a death sentence to our seas and farms- the primary source of our food. Please stop the coal-fired power plant and look into cleaner and safer technologies available where investing is wiser in the long run. We ask you to protect our lives and our future. Please keep Palawan, the most beautiful island in the world, the Philippines' Last Ecological Frontier, home of the world-renowned Underground River, and a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve, coal-free! Please stop coal-fired power plants!
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  • UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS: GO FOSSIL FREE!
    To put the University of the Arts at the forefront of the global movement to reject our reliance on fossil fuels. To follow the successful example of the University of Glasgow, who have recently achieved a divestment policy. To achieve transparency, so that students (current and prospective) know where their money is going, and all members of the University know its position on environmental issues. From tar sands to Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for shale gas - the fossil fuel industry is scraping the bottom of the barrel and causing huge environmental and human devastation in the process. Withdrawing our institutions’ financial and moral backing for this climate-wrecking industry is crucial to tackling climate change. For more information: http://peopleandplanet.org/fossil-free http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/08/glasgow-becomes-first-university-in-europe-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels
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  • Divest Greenwich Council From Fossil Fuel Investments
    The Greenwich Pension Fund has around £17 million invested directly in fossil fuel companies and more invested indirectly (i.e. commingled) [1]. Such investments carry a high degree of risk on ethical, financial and scientific grounds and the Pension Fund’s investments therefore expose the people of Greenwich to those risks. Hundreds of institutions around the globe have already committed to divesting more than £31 billion from fossil fuel companies, and the Greenwich Pension Fund can add significantly to this movement [2]. If global warming is to be limited to 2°C, a level already considered dangerous, up to 80% of known carbon reserves must be left in the ground [3]. Available evidence indicates that fossil fuel companies intend to burn enough reserves to push global warming far above 2°C, as they insist even on searching for further reserves, often in the globe’s most ecologically sensitive areas [4]. 2014 was the hottest year ever recorded and the 20 hottest years have all occurred since 1981, bringing increases in extreme weather events, flooding, droughts and other calamities [5, 6]. Fossil fuel companies have also been actively disruptive to political efforts at limiting global warming through intensive political lobbying and the funding of disinformation campaigns [7]. If it is wrong to continue to wreck the Earth’s climate, then it follows that it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. There are also increasing indications that the profitability of the fossil fuel industry will decrease significantly in coming years. If action is taken to limit global warming and a large degree of carbon reserves are left in the ground, shares in fossil fuel companies will drop significantly in value [8]. As such, pension funds currently investing in fossil fuels risk exposure to this 'carbon bubble', while there is already evidence that fossil fuel-free portfolios are capable of out-performing those including fossil fuel investments [9]. For in depth analyses of these and related risks, see: http://gofossilfree.org/frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.carbontracker.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/fossil-fuel-divestment References: [1] http://greenwich.greenparty.org.uk/news/council-fossil-fuel-divestment.html [2] http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/ [3] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14016.html [4] http://www.shell.com/global/future-energy/arctic/exploration-production.html [5] http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/201412 [6] http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/climate-change-impacts/ [7] http://www.fossilfreemit.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FossilFreeMIT-Lobbying-Disinformation.pdf [8] http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf [9] https://www.msci.com/resources/factsheets/index_fact_sheet/msci-acwi-ex-fossil-fuels-index-gbp-gross.pdf
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