Climate change is the biggest threat to the future of our global society. Research carried out by Bill McKibben and 350.org has identified that fossil fuel companies declared reserves far exceed the amount that can be safely burned if we are to limit Co² in the atmosphere to a level that will keep projected temperature rises to within 2°C. 2°C was the “safe” level of temperature rises agreed at the Copenhagen Climate talks and that figure was based on the overwhelming scientific consensus among climate scientists. To keep temperature rises below 2°C we need to limit the amount of Co² we emit and that means that 80% of the declared reserves of the largest 200 fossil fuel companies cannot be burned. Temperature rises above 2°C will have devastating consequences for people, societies and eco-systems around the world. There are moral reasons to divest. If business as usual means investing in an industry that will have devastating effects on future generations, this is an issue of inter-generational justice. There are financial reasons. The value of the companies is based on the fossil fuel reserves which are held and their potential future profits, and given that 80% of known reserves must stay in the ground the value of these shares is vastly overestimated. The value of the shares are expected to fall dramatically in future and if we don't act quickly our investments will make a loss as 'stranded assets' when the Carbon Bubble bursts. The Merseyside Pension fund currently has £198,897,000 directly invested in fossil fuel companies and another estimated £156,298,000 indirectly invested in commingled funds that include fossil fuel companies. This means in total the pension fund has £355,195,000 invested in fossil fuels. For more information about divestment please visit http://gofossilfree.org/uk/

Because Climate Change brings all manner of changes to our living experiences at this present time. This is not only for us in the UK, but for many other of the human race around the world. Fossil fuel reserves are more than three times higher than we can afford to burn in order to stay below the generally agreed threshold for dangerous climate change. Our children should not have to face the difficulties we are setting up for them by continuing to rely on fossil fuels. The effects on the Southern Pacific Islands and other Small Island States illustrate to us that the only moral choice for institutions that care about the planet and it's residents, is divestment.

Fossil fuel companies’ current reserves of oil, coal and gas hold 5 times more carbon than the world’s atmosphere can safely handle. Their business plan will cause climate chaos for billions of us, yet UK universities still collectively invest £5.2 billion in fossil fuel companies (1). The University of Cambridge and Colleges have an overall endowment that equates to almost £5 billion (Ibid.). Without an ethical policy (unlike universities such as Oxford, UCL and St. Andrews), this money is invested in companies without consideration of their catastrophic environmental impact. At a global and local level, the impacts of these investments contradict the University’s positive contributions to society, through research and education. Over the past two years the global divestment movement has shown the very real path to a sustainable, fossil-free future. Regarding fossil fuels, the divestment campaign is the fastest growing climate justice campaign in history. So far, $2.6 trillion has been divested from fossil fuels by 456 institutions (Ibid.). It is recognised across the world that global temperatures must remain no more than 2°C higher than in pre-industrial times if climate change is not to destroy our entire way of life (Ibid.). For this to happen, study after study has demonstrated that 80% of currently known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground (Ibid.). This view is endorsed by mainstream elements of society, from Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, to the United Nations. Companies like BP and Shell – and the University’s investments in them—are not part of a sustainable future, no matter how they, or the University, might pretend otherwise. Small investments in renewables are far outweighed by the catastrophic impacts of continued oil extraction. In universities around this country and the world, divestment is denying these companies their moral acceptability – Cambridge needs to catch up. In the University’s “Dear World...” Campaign, it has positioned itself as the driving force for a better future. If it wants anyone to respect that, it needs to demonstrate moral leadership and distance itself from the fossil fuel industry. Fortunately, the working group on investment recently set up by the University presents the perfect opportunity, just a month before the historic climate summit in Paris. All moral and financial arguments point to the same thing – divestment from fossil fuels. References: (1) People and Planet (2013). Knowledge and Power: Fossil Free Universities Report. https://peopleandplanet.org/dl/fossil-free/knowledge-power-report.pdf

1. Derbyshire County Council Pension Fund has £290 million invested in fossil fuel industries, including Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Rio Tinto. Fossil fuel industries make up nearly 6% of the pension fund. 2. The pension fund affects over 170 employers in Derbyshire including Derbyshire County Council, all the borough and District Councils in Derbyshire [1]; Derby City Council; Chesterfield College; Derby College; Derbyshire Fire Authority; Derbyshire Police Authority; Peak District National Park Authority; University of Derby and a large group of smaller employers. 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. Climate change is happening now - we’re already experiencing global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. [2] Whole ecosystems are threatened, and people's lives are at risk due to flooding, food and water insecurity, creating climate change refugees. [3] 4. In order to stop the global climate warming by 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and avert global catastrophe, 80% of all known fossil fuels must stay in the ground. [4] By removing investments in fossil fuel companies Derbyshire County Council will be showing its commitment to creating a healthy, sustainable future for both the people of Derbyshire and the planet as a whole. 5. There is also a financial argument to divest from fossil fuels. The need and growing political pressure to leave as much of our fossil fuels in the ground make the risk of stranded assets (worthless fuel stocks that regulation will prevent from being burned) very real. [5] At the same time it is becoming more expensive both to find and to extract the remaining fuel deposits, while, renewable energy technology is becoming more efficient and less expensive. [6]. Both of these factors create risks for investors. People and institutions that own shares in fossil fuel companies will see the value of their investments decrease. [7,8] 6. Institutions across the world including churches and universities, the Environment Agency [9] 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. [10] Let's see Derbyshire join them in making this small but impactful commitment. This petition is supported by the following Derbyshire organisations (in alphabetical order): Amber Valley Against Fracking; Calow Against Gas Extraction (CAGE); Chesterfield and District TUC; Chesterfield Climate Alliance; Clay Cross Against Fracking; Creswell Against Fracking; Derby Climate Coalition; Eckington Against Fracking; Glossopdale Transition Initiative; Melbourne Area Transition; Sustainable Edale; Sustainable Hayfield; Transition Belper; Transition Buxton; Transition Chesterfield; Transition Hope Valley; Transition Matlock; Transition New Mills. Transition Wirksworth; University of Derby Students’ Union. Please let us know if you would like your group to be added to this list. A hard copy of this petition can be downloaded from www.transitionchesterfield.org/divest-derbyshire/ Notes [1] Amber Valley Borough Council; Bolsover District Council; Chesterfield Borough Council; Derby City Council; Derbyshire Dales District Council; Erewash Borough Council;; High Peak Borough Council; North East Derbyshire District Council; South Derbyshire District Council [2] http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ [3] www.unhcr.org/pages/49e4a5096.html [4] www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30709211 [5] www.carbontracker.org/report/wasted-capital-and-stranded-assets/ [6] www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10957292/Fossil-industry-is-the-subprime-danger-of-this-cycle.html [7] www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/03/bank-of-england-warns-of-financial-risk-from-fossil-fuel-investments [8] www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/12/millions-wiped-off-uk-local-government-pensions-due-to-coal-crash-analysis-shows [9] www.eapf.org.uk/en/news-feed [10] http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/

Climate change is accelerating at unpredictable rates; this necessitates direct and collective radical action. 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. We just witnessed one of the strongest Superstorms in recorded history. 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. It is time for Clark University, in solidarity with WPI and WSU, to join the divestment community, and extend this to the regional community at large. To remain inundated and feebly committed is to accept the certain death of the entire global community. It's time for Clark to take a stand and truly, radically, (not under presumed false guise) assist in challenging convention and changing the world.

UPDATE: Latest data (https://divest-dashboard.herokuapp.com/ - released Feb 2021) shows that Norfolk *still* has £118million invested in fossil fuels - 3.3% of its total fund. This is a small percentage of total investments compared to the last time these figures were released, but any investment in fossil fuels is unconscionable in this era of climate emergency. There is overwhelming evidence (1) that the impact on climate change of burning even the known reserves of fossil fuels will create an unsustainable environment for the generations to come, and untold suffering to countless living beings. This fact will impact negatively on the value of investments in the industries concerned with fossil fuel extraction. Using just the fossil fuel reserves listed on the world’s stock markets would be enough to take us beyond 2°C of global warming (2). This means that more than 80 per cent of the world's known coal reserves, 30 per cent of known oil and 50 per cent of gas reserves need to stay in the ground and drilling in the Arctic is out of the question if we're to stay below two degrees. Recent drops in the oil price add to the uncertainty surrounding fossil fuels and the financial viability of some extractions presenting opportunities to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels (3). In defiance of mainstream research evidence and international policy (4), fossil fuel companies continue to extract and burn as much carbon as possible to maximise their profits. Despite the very high probability of planetary disaster they show no intention of switching away from their core business model. Our local council has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying the very future for ourselves and for our children that personal investment in a pension seeks to enhance. Instead it should reinvest in solutions to climate change. We won’t see any political progress on climate change until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. Divestment for fossil fuel investments would also minimise the council's exposure to the financial risk of the 'carbon bubble', whereby shareholders risk being left with stranded assets (worthless fuel stocks that regulation will prevent from being burned). It is a paradox that pension funds providing income for the future should at the same time be investing in the fossil fuel industry which if left to its own devices will exploit more of the fossil fuel reserves than we can safely use! Institutions around the world including local government, universities and churches are pulling out of fossil fuel investments and moving towards a clean energy future (5) It's time to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in clean energy now for inescapable moral and economic reasons. Shareholders (including pension funds) have started to challenge Exxon, Shell and BP to show how their business model is compatible with a 2 degree temperature rise (6). Some argue that engaging with fossil fuel companies is a more effective tactic than divestment. But Jonathon Porritt, one of the UK’s most esteemed environmentalists who spent years working on sustainability projects with BP and Shell, earlier this year said engagement was now futile because “hydrocarbon supremacists” at the companies had successfully ousted reformers wanting to diversify into green energy. Divestment, therefore, seems to be an unavoidable step to halting the damage and suffering which will ensue unless timely action is taken. 1 http://350.org/about/science/ 2 http://math.350.org/ 3 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530043.100-over-a-barrel-falling-oil-prices-and-the-environment.html http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029415.700-an-oil-crash-is-on-its-way-and-we-should-be-ready.html#.VNI0c9kgGc0 4 http://www.ipcc.ch/ 5 http://zerocarbonbritain.org/index.php/zcb-latest-report 6 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/21/bp-challenged-confront-climate-change-risk-by-shareholders Thanks to Holly from the campaign to divest Avon pension fund for letting us use their text.

Recent projections have shown that if we continue to emit CO2 at our current rates, the world will warm by a total of 4 degrees by the end of the century. It is clear that our future does not lie within fossil fuels so we must find sustainable energy alternatives before it is too late. Despite this, and despite having committed to divesting from some fossil fuel companies, the University of Edinburgh still has vast sums of money invested in fossil fuels and arms. We believe the University should stand by its ethics and join other universities such as Glasgow and SOAS in divesting fully from fossil fuels and arms companies. We are going to continue the fight and get the university to #divesttherest.

Climate change is occurring at unprecedented rates, largely due to the massive amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by the fossil fuel industry. It is widely accepted that elevated carbon dioxide levels are the major contributor to the increasing global temperatures, rising sea levels, acidification of the oceans, retreating ice sheets and extreme weather events that continue to affect our planet with increasing intensity and frequency. 2014 was the hottest year in recorded history and 2015 is predicted to be even hotter. This year is also set to be another year of record global carbon dioxide emissions, a trend that has continued since the climate change performance index began in 2005. Furthermore, the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration exceeded the 400ppm threshold in March of this year, according to the US department of commerce national oceanic and atmospheric administration. This level demonstrates the effects of human fossil fuel usage since the pre-industrial era, when carbon dioxide concentration was 120ppm lower than current measurements. To limit global warming to a globally agreed safe level of no more than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, we can only afford to emit 565 more gigatonnes of CO2. We would emit 2795 gigatonnes of CO2 if we burned all the reserves already discovered, and the fossil fuel industry still invests millions in finding new reserves. The reality of taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has serious financial implications for the fossil fuel industry and those invested in it. According to a report published by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company, major oil and gas companies could lose up to 60% of their market value should the international community enforce existing pledges to reduce emissions. As a result of these analyses, international authorities including the International Energy Agency, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund have called upon investors to shift their money away from fossil fuels, we encourage the Auckland Medical School Foundation to do the same to discourage the destructive nature of the fossil fuel industry from causing further harm to our environment. Climate change has huge implications to our nation’s ecological systems and future physical and psychological health. The worsening of these environmental parameters may lead to substantial increases in climate change related diseases such as diarrheal and vector-borne infectious diseases e.g. malaria, dengue fever, as well as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, injury and illness from extreme weather events, heat/UV radiation related morbidity and mortality, malnutrition and allergic diseases e.g. asthma. Climate change also has the potential to result in indirect deleterious effects on mental health due to stress, loss of homes, economic instability, and forced migration; with children, the elderly, and communities living in poverty being the most vulnerable. This will only widen preexisting inequalities among populations in New Zealand and around the world. We are already witnessing the impact of climate change-related extreme weather events taking their toll on, often the most ill-equipped regions of the world, and they are becoming more frequent says the United States National Academy of Sciences. Man-made climate change is likely responsible for significantly contributing to these devastating consequences. While the rise of fossil fuel use initially led to increased prosperity as well as advances in human health indirectly over the past two centuries, we are now at a cross roads. We are forced to make a decision as to whether to continue on our current trajectory, knowing full well that the costs of continued carbon emissions are simply too great bear, or we can decide to leave fossil fuels for the history books and instead adapt and advance clean and renewable energy sources which are becoming cheaper and more readily available. An awareness is spreading that economic development is no longer contingent upon fossil fuel use. By urging the Auckland Medical School Foundation to take action against climate change by publicly divesting from fossil fuel industries you will be aiding in the preservation of this Earth and its residents.

80% of current fuel reserves must stay unburned to have a significant probability of staying below the 2 degree limit of warming. However the markets place a multi trillion dollar value on this unburnable carbon reserve. Therefore, assuming effective legislation, to curb emissions and prevent catastrophic global warming, is introduced, this trillion dollar carbon bubble will burst. This means anyone who has investments in fossil fuel companies will suffer huge devaluation. Furthermore, actively investing money in the fossil fuel industry is effectively betting that we will not act to save the planet. This is an incredibly cynical position to take, one which hampers efforts to protect the climate and puts investors at risk of huge losses. As such, we believe divestment will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the well being of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

Lincolnshire - on the front line of global warming. Climate Change has caused, and is predicted to cause, a much greater risk of flooding and extreme weather but Lincolnshire is uniquely vulnerable to rising sea level. The Council recognises the potential impacts of global warming yet its pension fund invests over £100,000,000 in the very fossil fuel companies that are causing climate change. About 7% of the County’s pension fund, is invested in causing the problem. Most of the world’s coal, oil and gas reserves must remain in the ground, unburnt if we are to avoid catastrophic global warming. As governments begin to regulate more closely, policy changes and oversupply of fossil fuels globally will see the value of carbon plummet, reserves will become stranded assets; their share prices will collapse. This makes investing in fossil fuels increasingly risky for all stakeholders. Financial experts, including the Bank of England, Goldman Sachs, Standard and Poor's and AXA, have warned of the economic risk that climate change policies pose to fossil fuel companies. Lincolnshire County Council needs to be ahead of the curve by divesting quickly to safeguard the future pensions of all its shareholders. Lincolnshire County Council recognises that it must do whatever it can to tackle climate change and it has a responsibility to divest from an industry that jeopardises the future of our planet. Yet the short term financial gain that the Pension Fund Committee hopes to achieve comes at the risk of financial loss as well as a cost to people and planet. We hope Lincolnshire County Council pension trustees are aware of September’s UNEP Finance Initiative Report, Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century – which concludes that: "Failing to consider long-term investment value drivers, which include environmental, social and governance issues, in investment practice is a failure of fiduciary duty.” Instead of fossil fuel investment, the Pension Fund Committee should invest in solutions to climate change, investments that protect pensions and planet, joining The British Medical Association, Bristol City Council and Oxford City Council who have all recently agreed to make the commitment to no direct investment in the fossil fuel industry. Globally Lincolnshire County Council would join over 400 institutions and 2000 individuals with an asset base of $2.6 trillion who are already divesting across the world. --ENDS-- Please sign the petition and encourage others to do so. For data on Local Authority pension fund investment in fossil fuels see http://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/ and http://math.350.org/ Petition from Biff Vernon for Transition Town Louth

Somerset - on the front line of climate change. Climate Change has caused, and is predicted to cause, a much greater risk of flooding and extreme weather. After the devastating floods of the Somerset Levels in 2013 Somerset County Council saw the terrible impact of climate change first hand. The Council recognises the potential impacts of climate change yet its pension fund invests £121,505,000 in the very fossil fuel companies that are causing climate change ! Yes, 8.3% of the fund, the 10th highest % in the UK, invested in the problem ! We can't afford to burn 80% of the world’s coal, oil and gas reserves if we want to keep climate change below the 2oC 'tipping point'. As governments begin to regulate more closely after the Paris COP agreement, cheaper renewables and oversupply of crude oil globally will see the value of fossil fuels plummet, reserves will become 'stranded assets' and the share price will drop. This makes investing in fossil fuels increasingly risky for all stakeholders. Financial experts, including the Bank of England, Goldman Sachs, Standard and Poor's and AXA, have warned of the economic risk that climate change policies pose to fossil fuel companies. Somerset County Council needs to be ahead of the curve to safeguard the future pensions of all its shareholders. Somerset County Council recognises that it must do whatever it can to tackle climate change and it has a responsibility to divest from an industry that jeopardises the future of our planet. Yet the short term financial gain that the Pension Fund Committee hopes to achieve comes at the risk of financial loss and a cost to people and planet. We hope Somerset County County Council pension trustees are aware of September’s UNEP Finance Initiative Report, Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century – which concludes that: "Failing to consider long-term investment value drivers, which include environmental, social and governance issues, in investment practice is a failure of fiduciary duty.” Instead of fossil fuel investment, SCC Pension Fund Committee should invest in solutions to climate change, investments that protect pensions and planet, joining The British Medical Association, Bristol City Council and Oxford City Council who have all recently agreed to make the commitment to no direct investment in the fossil fuel industry. Globally Somerset County Council would join over 400 institutions and 2000 individuals with an asset base of $2.6 trillion who are already divesting across the world. Time is running out to stop runaway climate change, (2) it make no moral or economic sense to invest in fossil fuels. The time to change was 30 years ago but massive divestment now is a key part in getting to zero emissions by 2030 and having a chance. Please sign the petition and encourage others to do so. (1) http://math.350.org/ 350.org has revealed how much every UK council invests in fossil fuels. Petition from Cllr Shane Collins, Leader of the Green Group on Mendip Council, East Mendip Green Party, South Somerset Green Party. (2) Kevin Anderson https://www.science.su.se/english/about-us/calendar/the-gordon-goodman-memorial-lecture-2017-kevin-anderson-1.341476

Climate Change is an issue which will disrupt our entire planet's weather and ecosystems if we allow it to happen. The effects on society will be drastic and chaotic leading to increased disease, famine, poverty, migration. We want our university be a bold leader in the fight against Climate Change and the transition to a sustainable and fairer society. The failure of the industry and global leaders over the past decades to enact meaningful change has forced the need for progressive action: divestment. The university is a leading researcher in areas of sustainable energy, environment, climate, health, food security and conflict. We want the university to have consistent values in its activities, that it will not endorse or profit from these highly unethical companies. The status quo isn't working and the transition to sustainability is inevitable so let us be bold, let us be positive, let us act on the right side of history and usher in a new better era. Divesting from these companies frees up capital to reinvest in our new technologies, industries and economies for a secure and sustainable future.