• Divest Antioch University from Fossil Fuels
    Climate change is an environmental and human rights crisis that demands bold action. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently. The effects of climate change disproportionately affect lower income and marginalized communities, often exacerbating already existing social injustices. Almost every government in the world has agreed through the 2009 Copenhagen Accord that any warming above a 2°C (3.6°F) rise would be unsafe, and that humans can only pour about 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to maintain this. Based on current emissions, we will emit those 565 gigatons in a little over 15 years. Fossil-fuel companies possess proven fossil fuel reserves that would release approximately 2,795 gigatons of CO2 if they are burned, which is five times the "safe" amount. Warming in excess of the "safe" amount will leave us a planet inconsistent with that on which human civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted. Fossil fuel companies not only plan on burning all of their reserves, but spend millions of dollars per day exploring for more fossil fuels. Their business model is incompatible with a liveable planet. Knowingly profiting from the creation and exacerbation of climate change runs counter to both AU's mission of advancing social, economic, and environmental justice and to the values of our learning community. Our investment choices all have real-world social, economic, and environmental justice consequences. Antioch University has an opportunity now to be a leader in shifting its endowment resources from fossil fuels to investments in an array of robust alternatives that advance our institutional mission, such as, community development, clean and renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency and conservation, among other public goods. It is time for Antioch University to invest in communities and the future, not climate change. see https://drive.google.com/a/antioch.edu/file/d/0BzvD7pr40Gt1RWdzVTJRYlBhVlk/view?usp=sharing for a full brief with citations on why AU should divest from fossil fuels.
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  • Divest the Virginia Retirement System from Fossil Fuels
    The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has the fiduciary responsibility to invest public employee retirement savings in enterprises that do not undermine the future health and safety of those same employees. The fossil fuel industry's business objectives are to extract all known fossil fuel reserves and continue to explore for new reserves. It has been demonstrated that if more than 20% of the known reserves are consumed, the climate impacts will adversely affect all aspects of society. Their business model is in conflict with life on Earth. It is unconscionable for the VRS to invest in corporations that threaten the health and welfare of VA’s public employees and all VA residents.
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  • Divest East Sussex Pension Fund from Fossil Fuels
    Our local authority has a responsibility not to invest local people's funds in outdated, polluting industries, such as fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), that are damaging the balance of our climate and threatening our way of life. Already, we are seeing a greater frequency of extreme weather events, such as the floods of 2013/14 – the wettest winter in England and Wales since 1776 - which caused severe flooding in East Sussex and exposed our coast to very high storm surges from the sea. Investments in fossil fuels are also financially risky. Global temperature targets agreed by world leaders can only be met if most of the existing fossil fuel reserves remain unburned and we quickly move to cleaner technology. This means that investments in fossil fuel companies could soon become ‘stranded assets’. Indeed, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned that investors face 'potentially huge' losses from climate change action that could make vast reserves of oil, coal and gas 'literally unburnable' For reasons of both public responsibility and financial prudence, a growing number of major institutions across the world - including the cities of Oslo, Seattle, and Oxford, Glasgow University, and the World Council of Churches - have already decided to move their funds out of fossil fuels. Several UK local authorities, including Haringey Council and the South Yorkshire Pension Fund, are now taking similar steps. The East Sussex Pension Fund has an estimated £172 million of local people's pensions invested in fossil fuels. The Fund is administered by East Sussex County Council. On 13 April 2016, Labour and Conservative Councillors on Hastings Borough Council – a member of the Pension Fund - joined forces to pass a unanimous motion calling on East Sussex County Council to divest the Fund from fossil fuels. It's time for East Sussex County Council to divest local people's pensions from these dirty, damaging and financially risky industries.
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  • Fossil Free Berlin - Offener Brief
    Im Rahmen des Global Divestment Day und als Auftakt der städtischen Divestmentkampagne Berlin wurde der offene Brief von Klimawissenschaftlern, Politikern, Ärzten, Soziologen, Künstlern und Bürgern unterzeichnet. Alle Unterzeichner*innen und den gesamten Brief findest du hier: http://gofossilfree.org/de/divest-berlin-stadtkampagne/
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  • Divest Curtin From Fossil Fuels
    We have reached a landmark moment in history. For the first time in over 5 million years the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has reached 400 parts per million (ppm). 97% of all climate scientists agree that climate change is human induced and argue that the highest safe concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is 350 ppm. If we want to secure a safe and livable future it is time to end the fossil fuel era and invest in renewable energy and sustainable lifestyles. We call on Curtin University to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe such action on behalf of the University will be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio because it is financially and morally unjustified to invest in assets that will become stranded and guarantee dangerous climate change. In addition it is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn both the planet to climate disaster and current and future graduating classes to a future defined by climate chaos. For the good of our students and our nation, and to preserve the quality of life for this and future generations worldwide, we call upon you to join a growing movement of schools around the country that are committed to preventing a more extreme climate by moving Curtin University's endowment beyond fossil fuels.
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  • Divest West Midlands Pension Fund From Fossil Fuels
    Climate change is already causing massive destruction around the world. For the sake of all of our futures, we need to move away from fossil fuels and begin the transition to a clean and just energy economy, now. Many of the fossil fuel companies that West Midlands Pension Fund invests in have a poor environmental record, including ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, spilled 11 million gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska and plans to drill in the Russian Arctic with Rosneft. BP, another West Midlands Pension Fund investment, was responsible for the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico. Fossil fuel companies are also highly overvalued due to the assumption that all of their reserves will be burnt. But as policy catches up to climate realities, this overvaluation means there’s a multi-trillion dollar “carbon bubble” that’s poised to burst. This will greatly effect the value of our pensions if West Midlands continues to invest in fossil fuels. We know that 80% of current fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground to prevent runaway climate change. We must act now!
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  • Divest Colorado Springs From Fossil Fuels!
    We are concerned with the moral and economic issues around being invested in companies that contribute to climate change. Our local government has a responsibility to divest from a rogue industry that’s destroying our future, and reinvest in solutions to climate disruption. The fossil fuel industry has chosen to ignore the signs of a warming planet in favor of profit above all cost; we must send a clear message that we value the health of people and our planet before profits. Climate change is ravaging our state, nation and planet with more wildfires, drought, higher food prices and extreme weather events. While climate change is severely impacting our quality of life now, it is young people whose future ability to thrive - and even survive - on our planet will be most impacted. Not only are the moral implications becoming more apparent, but the economic issues are also becoming prevalent. Hurricane Sandy relief exceeded $50 billion and in Colorado alone insurers estimated wildfire damage exceeded $450 million to personal property by July 2012. The number and severity of fires has dramatically increased over the past two decades, and with a warmer climate that trend will not reverse in the foreseeable future. While a largely symbolic gesture, divesting from fossil fuels is important. By doing so, Colorado Springs City Council will send a clear message: fossil fuels are history, their continued use is harming us, and we want to invest in our future. Divestment is not new to Colorado. In 2007, the state of Colorado passed a bill to divest funds from companies supporting the atrocities in Sudan on moral grounds. Colorado sent a message: we do not support the continued massacre of the people of Sudan. Divesting funds from fossil fuel companies would have an even greater impact. Divestment would show that Colorado Springs is committed to the health and future of its citizens. Though a small step against the global problem of climate change, divestment is an an important step towards transitioning to sustainable forms of energy, and it sends a message to the fossil fuel companies that they are not the way of the future. 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! Join us to gain public support on Feb. 13 for Global Divestment Day: RSVP and find out more details here: http://act.350.org/event/gdd_attend/10114
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  • UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: DIVEST FROM THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY
    Investment in fossil fuel industries drives fossil fuel consumption and its negative environmental impacts. Burning coal, oil, and gas releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, both warming and polluting the planet. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the status quo continues the planet could warm by almost 5oC by 2100 [2]. This would have a catastrophic impact on human life. It would turn our planet into one not “similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted”, as James Hansen, a top climate scientist at NASA put it [3]. The second reason is that investment in these companies gives implicit support to their activities. It is the moral duty of the University to withdraw its financial support for companies that actively contribute to global warming, the burden of which is being felt disproportionately by the world’s poorest countries, and which exacerbates global poverty. Divestment from fossil fuel firms will help remove fossil fuel companies’ social license to operate. The third reason is that investment in fossil fuel companies is illogical when set against the University’s environmental priorities. The Cabot Institute is committed to research surrounding the environment and climate change. Furthermore the university is pledging to become a net carbon neutral campus by 2030. It also has an annually reviewed environmental policy that states that, “protection of the environment is an integral part of good institutional practice” [4]. Besides its dangers, there are strong financial arguments for divestment. As the BP oil spill illustrated, fossil fuel companies operate in risky contexts that can not only damage environments and communities, but also shareholder value. Fossil fuel companies are at the mercy of regulations aimed at preventing climate change. Recent research has shown that, if regulators are serious about preventing climate change, a third of global oil reserves, half of all gas reserves, and over 80% of coal reserves will have to remain unburned to limit global warming to 2ºC [5][6]. This means fossil fuel firms would have to massively write down the value of assets on their balance sheets, leading to huge and sustained destruction in shareholder value. By divesting from fossil fuels, the University will join a long list of respected institutions already committed to going fossil free, including Stanford University, Glasgow University, Oxford CIty Council, the World Council of Churches, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The global divestment campaign is growing, and together we can make a statement about how we want our future to look. University of Bristol students and affiliates please provide student or university email addresses. [1] http://www.bristol.ac.uk/environment/bristol_european_green_capital_2015 [2] http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf [3] http://benthamopen.com/openaccess.php?toascj/articles/V002/217TOASCJ.htm [4] http://www.bristol.ac.uk/environment/policy/env_policy.pdf [5] http://gofossilfree.org/uk/about-fossil-free/ [6] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14016.html
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  • University of Glasgow Academic Support for Fossil Fuel Divestment
    The world in which the students of the University of Glasgow are to graduate into is currently threatened by the reality of climate change. Already the world is suffering the effects of 1°C rise in global average temperatures. Last year, Arctic sea-ice cover had retreated to its lowest levels since the beginning of satellite records, and the average global sea level was 1.4in above the 1993-2010 average. The world is experiencing more severe draught, wildfires and flooding, which impact the world's poorest most severely; the World Health Organisation estimates that climate change is causing at least 140,000 deaths per year. The fossil fuel industry is unequivocally driving us towards a global climate crisis, and we will not keep dangerous climate change at bay without halting our extraction of fossil-fuels. The university has both a moral and a financial duty to its students to withdraw its investments from the fossil fuel industry. The moral case is clear: if it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. Furthermore, fossil fuels are a dangerous investment. The value of companies like Shell, BP and Chevron is based on the assumption that they will be able to dig up and sell their fossil fuel reserves. But if the world gets serious about stopping climate change, that would mean keeping 80% of proven fossil fuel reserves in the ground, and the assumption that forms the basis for these companies' value will be undermined.
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  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Divest
    The School states there are ethical restrictions on its investments, that its guiding values include environmental sustainability and that among its aims are to ‘ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the School’ (3). It is clear the School’s values, aims and ethical responsibilities would converge on a commitment to divest from fossil fuels. Environment: The School funds research into the effects of climate change on health whilst simultaneously profiting from fossil fuels, the root cause of climate change. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report chapter on ‘Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits’ edited by Prof. Andy Haines, has raised awareness about the health impacts of climate change and pollution. The IPCC report states that ‘People who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally or otherwise marginalized are especially vulnerable to climate change’ (4). Climate change is, according to the Lancet, ‘the greatest threat to human health in the 21 century’. One of the guiding principles of medical practice is ‘do no harm’; as a school rooted in medicine and health these values should not only be applied to immediate practises, but to the full range of the School’s activities. Finance: The share prices of the companies the school is invested in are dependant on the value of their known carbon reserves. More than 100 countries have adopted a global warming limit of 2 °C or below (relative to pre-industrial levels) as a guiding principle for mitigation efforts to reduce climate change risks, impacts and damage (6). In order to keep global warming below this threshold 80% of known carbon reserves will have to remain in the ground (7). Recently the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, told the World Bank that ‘the majority of the world’s reserves are unburnable’ (8) and commissioned the bank to examine “the vulnerability that fossil fuel assets could pose to the stability of the financial system in a carbon constrained world” (9). The School is unnecessarily exposing itself to stranded assets. The current low price of oil and instability of the market are reflected in the share values of the School’s three direct fossil fuel investments, all of which have fallen 20% since June 2014. It must be recognised that these investments are inherently unstable and not a sustainable place to invest the School’s endowments. We, students and staff at LSHTM, demand that the School must break ties with the fossil fuel industry. We want LSHTM to: • Identify and publicly report all financial ties, contracts and agreements with the fossil fuel industry including direct and indirect (e.g. via banks and co-mingled funds) investments, sponsorship and advertising agreements, and research funding. • End current investments in fossil fuel companies immediately and shift funds to lower risk, ethical investments. • No longer partner with or accept funding from fossil fuel companies. • Terminate existing agreements and contracts, including sponsorships, advertising, and funding. • Make no future investments or partnerships with fossil fuel companies. • Set and publish timelines for completion of all demands, including regular progress reports and an analysis of potential risks and causes of delay, all of which are easily accessible online, not just by request 1. Freedom of Information Request, 3/12/2014 2. http://fossilfreeindexes.com/the-carbon-underground-2014/ 3. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/introducing/mission/strategy_2012_2017.pdf 4. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Summary 5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29310475 6. Meunshausen, M. et al., 2009. Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 degrees C. Nature, 458(7242), pp.1158-62. 7. 350.org 8. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/13/mark-carney-fossil-fuel-reserves-burned-carbon-bubble 9. http://www.carbontracker.org/news/bank-of-englands-momentous-move-on-climate-change/
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  • Divest the London Pension Fund from Fossil Fuels
    Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, supports divestment! http://www.sadiq.london/a_greener_cleaner_london Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has encountered. Warming in excess of 1.5°C will have catastrophic consequences [1]. In order to have a chance of staying below this temperature rise, 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must not be burnt [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 [2]. 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 regions [3]. If it is wrong to damage the world we live in, then it is wrong to profit from that damage. Responsible investors should no longer be profiting from the destructive activities of these companies. The London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) manages the pensions of City Hall employees (including the Mayor of London and the London Assembly) as well as many other local authorities [4]. It manages nearly £5 billion worth of assets, millions of which are direct investments in fossil fuel companies including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Shell [5]. Indirect investments total £54.6 million. These fossil fuel investments are becoming increasingly risky as the cost of extraction increases and international treaties restrict the use of fossil fuels [2]. Not only does it make moral sense not to invest in the destruction of our planet, it also makes financial sense. By divesting from fossil fuels, City Hall will join public institutions such as the British Medical Association, Glasgow University and Oxford City Council, amongst many others, in leading by example to help create a sustainable future for the citizens of London and beyond. So we ask: 1. The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) to: - Immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies, including those made by externally managed and pooled funds. - Offer a fossil free pension option to employees - Divest from the top 200 companies with the largest known carbon reserves (oil, gas and coal), and shift these funds to lower risk, ethical investments within 5 years 2. The Mayor and the London Assembly must be transparent about their relationship with the fossil fuel industry: - Publish full details of their financial and other ties to the fossil fuel industry - Not accept sponsorship and advertising from fossil fuel companies. - Declare their divestment from the fossil fuel industry in order to encourage other pension funds, institutions and individuals to do the same. References [1]http://bit.ly/1Cp61vN [2]http://bit.ly/1mLPo58 [3]http://bit.ly/1r2Y2Qb [4]http://www.lpfa.org.uk/Who-we-are.aspx [5]http://bit.ly/1z8u53U
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  • Make Cardiff University Divest From Fossil Fuels!
    From a Freedom of Information request, we learned that Cardiff University currently invests around two million pounds of its total endowment funds in the Fossil Fuel industry (Shell, BG Group, BHP Billiton etc). Divesting from this industry will withdraw moral support from the Fossil Fuel industry and show Cardiff University's support for a more sustainable future. Cardiff University has already divested from the Arms and Tobacco industry, and it has a number of world leading researchers working in sustainability. The Fossil Fuel industry has a disproportionate influence on government policy and independent institutions like universities through lobbying and funding. As Climate Change has been verified by 97% of climate scientists, (according to a recent IPCC report) it is essential to begin cutting political and economic ties with this industry, so that the democratic process has a chance to avert the catastrophe which we are heading towards. We are not powerless in the struggle to protect our planet from uncontrollable climate chaos, and we can use divestment as a way to send a strong political message through our institutions- including Cardiff University.
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