Fossil Fuel Divestment: Cities & States

Campaigns (18)

• Los Angeles
  

  Divest the City of Los Angeles from Fossil Fuels!

  Today, March 22, 2013, Mayor Villagrossa is announcing that the City of Los Angeles will not receive any of its electrical power from coal by the year 2025. That is good news, but it alone is not a significant enough step to avoid the worsening climate catastrophe. From the acidization of the seas, to the recent droughts in the midwest, to super storms such as Sandy, to the streak of 336th consecutive months that global temperatures have risen above 20th century averages, our civilization is in peril and we must act, now! There is a movement, spearheaded by gofossilfree.org, on over 300 college and university campuses across the nation calling for fossil fuel divestment. Four schools have already commited to divest and more are sure to soon follow suit. Yet students cannot be the only ones leading the fight for a just and sustainable future, our local governments must join the phalanx confronting our would be destroyers, the fossil fuel corporations such as Exxon-Mobil, British Petrolium, and Shell. Our governments must recognize them as the most abhorrent villans in the ongoing tragedy of the commons. The City of Los Angeles must not profit from the devastation of its citizens, currently enduring ailments from cancer and asthma. The City of Los Angeles must divest its holdings from the 200 companies listed in the Carbon Tracker report "Unburnable Carbon." Divestment in Los Angeles is not without precedent. The boards of our public pension plans have addressed divestment from South African securities, tobacco stock, and the securities of firms conducting business in Sudan and Iran. The boards adopted a Sudan policy in March of 2007, a policy addressing social, political and human rights issues in May of 2007, and and Iran policy in April 2010. They are currently considering a divestment from firearms related securities. The suffering to human health and well-being caused by fossil fuel companies is in no way less noxious than the crimes of the entities from which Los Angeles has previously divested. Additionally, the divestment from fossil fuel stock is in accord with stated fiduciary duties and applies a "costlessness" standard. 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!

  564 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Peter Nichols
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  Washington: Divest from Fossil Fuels!

  Our children and their children will not be able to reverse global warming unless we stop investing in fossil fuel companies. Until we divest from fossil fuel companies they will continue exploring for new oil and coal and gas, even though we have more than enough now to cook the planet 5 times over. We can't safely burn more than a few years worth of fossil fuels at the rate we are going, and once enough people understand the science and connect the dots with droughts, fires, heat waves, storms, sea level rise, poverty and disease, water shortages, economic instability, war and famine, these companies won't make sense as a long-term financial investment anyway, much less as a moral one. We are investing in our own destruction. Our seniors will not want to retire on money held in fossil fuel companies when we see the growing impacts and suffering that we have caused through those companies.

  1,046 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Foster
• New York
  

  Divest New York City from Fossil Fuels!

  Hurricane Sandy decimated the New York City area, causing $65 billion in damage, causing power outages, destroying homes and leaving a path of wreckage from the Rockaways to Riverside Park. It's time for NYC to stop investing our pension funds in oil, gas and coal, and go fossil free! We know that Sandy was fueled in part by Atlantic waters that were 5 degrees warmer than average, a result of human-induced climate change. Our city government is taking steps to make our city an example of low-carbon urban living, from painting bike lanes to mandating energy retrofits -- and much much more must be done. And yet, New York City's pension funds for city employees, teachers, police, firemen and school employees are all invested in coal, oil and gas companies that dump carbon into the atmosphere for free, and rig the political system so that they can continue to do so. If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. After Hurricane Sandy, New York City should be a shining light in the fight to combat climate change -- to do that, it's pension funds must divest from fossil fuels. A report from the Carbon Tracker Initiative has claimed that the world can only burn 800 more gigatonnes of carbon equivalent and stay under the two degree Celsius limit. A recent analysis of the world's current fossil fuel reserves, drawing on research by Oil Change International, has shown that if the world were to burn all current fossil fuel resources, then it would burn 982 gigatonnes of carbon equivalent. This means that we can no longer develop and build fossil fuel infrastructure; the age of fossil fuels must end immediately, if we have any hope of staying under two degrees Celsius. Our pension funds must follow suit and knowing that there can be no world in which the fossil fuel companies persist, we call upon New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer to commit to immediately freeze all investments in fossil fuel companies and divest the pension funds from these companies within five years. Read more about the need to divest and end all fossil fuel infrastructure here https://newrepublic.com/article/136987/recalculating-climate-math Over 3000 people from New York City have signed petitions calling upon Comptroller Stringer to divest the New York City pension funds from all fossil fuel holdings. To get involved in the campaign, go to 350nyc.org

  4,370 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by Nathan Schumer
• Portland
  

  Divest Portland from Fossil Fuels!

  Divestment from fossil fuel companies is a signal that the people of Portland are ready to take a stand for the good of the planet. If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. Portland should be a shining light in the fight to combat climate change -- to do that, the city must freeze and divest from fossil fuels. One city divesting from these stocks and funds can help build the momentum as other local governments, colleges, universities and institutions shift away from fossil fuels. Together, we can send a signal that the fossil fuel companies' future value is in doubt, that the world is ready to shift to an economy powered by renewable energy. As a proudly progressive city, Portland should be leading this charge.

  1,173 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Kevin Fitzgerald
• Minneapolis
  

  Support Divestment from Fossil Fuels in Minneapolis!

  Our local institutions have 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.

  646 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Jean Ross
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  Divest Connecticut from Fossil Fuels!

  The science is clear that humans are accelerating and intensifying the effects of climate change because of our insatiable comsumption of fossil fuels. We need to act now and act swiftly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that our children and grandchildren can realize a life on a livable planet. Connecticut taxpayers are paying for climate change - recovery funds to repair our state from Hurricane Sandy's destruction, lost revenue from a Long Island experiencing rising tides and water temperatures, floods on our rivers and streams, impacts to our farmers and our agricultural industry. Why would we pay tens of millions to try and recover from Hurricane Sandy and at the same time support those corporations making the next Hurricane inevitable? Fossil fuel companies are a bad investment for the planet, for the State of Connecticut, and for the pocketbook/wallet of the people who vote you in/out of office. 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. Experts agree that global warming will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic 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. Regarding the pocketbook, market analysts at HSBC have warned oil and gas majors, including BP, Shell and Statoil, that they could face a loss in market value of up to 60% should the international community stick to agreed emissions reduction targets. Their prediction is based on an ‘unburnable carbon’ scenario – a scenario where oil and gas falls to keep atmospheric concentration below 450 ppm. The analysts argue that the oil market is still failing to think about a low carbon future – ‘because of its long-term nature, we doubt the market is pricing in the risk of a loss of value from this issue’.

  256 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Charles Button
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  Divest the Maine Public Employees Retirement System from Fossil Fuels

  We the people of Maine take our state motto seriously: "Dirigo" ("I Lead"). From our first greenhouse gas emissions inventory in 1995 to the nation’s first statewide climate change law in 2003, Maine has been a leader in addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Despite good initiatives by both public and private sectors in Maine, atmospheric CO2 and climate change are accelerating. Climate scientists say we have years, not decades, to stabilize CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Climate change is already having an impact on the people and natural resources of Maine, and those effects will only get more severe if we do not take further action now. The fossil fuel industry is not looking out for our welfare. They consume millions in federal subsidies, spend millions on candidates, lobbying, and climate denial campaigns to protect their interests, all while planning to dig up and burn enough fossil fuels to devastate the planet. We do not believe the public employees of the state wish to have pension security at the cost of the health and safety of the people of Maine. Fossil fuel investments no longer represent fiduciary responsibility. We believe there are socially responsible investments available to the Public Employees Retirement Fund that will provide more true security to the hard-working public servants of the State of Maine. Let us continue to Lead.

  1,041 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Read Brugger
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  Divest Vermont’s Retirement Funds From Fossil Fuels

  Vermonters are paying for climate change - recovery funds to repair our state from Irene’s destruction, lost revenue when Lake Champlain floods or when the ski season shrinks, impacts to our farmers and our agricultural industry. In Bill McKibben’s words, “Why would we pay tens of millions to try and recover from Irene and at the same time support those corporations making the next Irene inevitable?” Fossil fuel companies are a bad investment both for the planet and for our pocketbooks. 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. Experts agree that global warming will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic 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. Regarding the pocketbook, market analysts at HSBC have warned oil and gas majors, including BP, Shell and Statoil, that they could face a loss in market value of up to 60% should the international community stick to agreed emissions reduction targets. Their prediction is based on an ‘unburnable carbon’ scenario – a scenario where oil and gas falls to keep atmospheric concentration below 450ppm. The analysts argue that the oil market is still failing to think about a low carbon future – ‘because of its long-term nature, we doubt the market is pricing in the risk of a loss of value from this issue’.

  2,427 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Maeve McBride