Fossil Free Australia

We're all part of institutions that ought to be looking out for the public good, from universities and religious institutions to local councils and state governments. Most of these institutions invest money in fossil fuels but we believe they have a responsibility to stop funding an industry that’s destroying our future, and start investing in climate solutions.

Despite the growing frequency of climate-driven extreme weather events, government inaction to solve this crisis is all but stalled. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can move investments from fossil fuels and toward the clean energy economy.

Start a campaign today demanding that your local institution:

1. Freezes any new investments in fossil fuels
2. Commits to a timeframe for divesting from existing fossil fuel investments.

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Campaigns (4)

  • Shepparton
    Divest Shepparton from Fossil Fuels
    Climate change is not simply an environmental problem, but an issue of social justice, intergenerational equity, and the viability for future human endeavors. It is now widely understood that we cannot safely burn even one-third of global fossil fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. We are already witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in the last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and extreme rainfall. These events had a grave impact on hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country billions of dollars. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. Through its current investment portfolio, City of Greater Shepparton is facilitating and profiting from the continued and expanding extraction and burning of fossil fuels, despite the harm that these practices are known to be causing to many millions of people worldwide. It is unethical and immoral for our council to be investing in, and profiting from companies that will condemn the planet to climate disaster. Therefore, we are calling on City of Greater Shepparton to divest from the fossil fuel industry. We believe divestment not only makes sense morally, but increasingly also financially, given the decrease in oil prices and associated investments and likelihood of a ‘carbon bubble’ bursting. Continued investment in companies that extract fossil fuels represents a significant risk to City of Greater Shepparton as these companies will face large devaluations when the world moves to lower emission energy sources. Let's strengthen City of Greater Shepparton’s commitment to sustainability and social justice by going fossil free.
    25 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Josie Lester
  • Hobart
    Hobart City Council Divestment. The petition is closed. 1500 signatures total on paper, plus online!
    As rate paying residents of Hobart we are extremely concerned about the effects of catastrophic climate change on our planet in general and Tasmania specifically.  We are calling upon Hobart City Council to live up to its promise to lead the community in responding to the threat of climate change and join the growing number of cities and municipalities worldwide in divesting from the fossil fuel industry.   Hobart City Council currently has $26 million, over 70% of its total investment portfolio, with the big banks which finance the fossil fuel industry.   There is a global concensus that the rise in temperatureS must be limited to 2°C to avoid catastrophic climate change, which would have severe effects both globally and locally, with Tasmania predicted to experience loss of economically important ecosystems and species due to warming oceans, loss of coastal areas to rising sea levels and increase in the frequency and severity of catastrophic bushfires.   To ensure warming does not exceed this 2°C limit, it has been estimated that 80% of remaining fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground. Since national governments are not acting fast enough to ensure this, a growing number of local governments are ruling out using the money entrusted to them by their residents to advance the destruction of our planet. Cities that have divested so far have included Melbourne, Newcastle, Byron Shire Council, Freemantle, ACT, San Francisco, Seattle, Oslo and many others.
    48 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Hobart 350
  • Norwood
    Divest from Fossil Fuels: Unitarian Church of South Australia
    In the interest of integrity, our Church's shareholdings need to be consistent with our principles. With climate change threatening our planet so severely, continuing to profit from the production of fossil fuels is inconsistent with our commitment to "respect the interdependent web of all existence" (our 7th principle). Given the devastating impact climate change is predicted to have on communities, particularly the poorest, profiting from fossil fuels is also arguably inconsistent with our 1st Principle - the inherent worth and dignity of every person; our 2nd Principle - justice, equity and compassion in human relations; and our 6th Principle - the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. In addition, there are strong financial arguments for divestment given that the pace at which the world is moving towards renewables leaves question marks over the long term prospects of fossil fuel producing companies.
    14 of 100 Signatures
    Created by David Freesmith
  • Canberra
    Divest Canberra from Fossil Fuels
    The ACT has Australia's most ambitious targets for emissions cuts and growing the renewable energy of the future. So why on this threatened earth does it invest in the coal, gas and oil that undermines all its good work? It's a moral shame and a big financial risk. Canberrans expect more!
    4,428 of 5,000 Signatures
    Created by Tom Swann