50 signatures reached
To: Hampshire County Council
Ask Hampshire County Council to stop investing in Fossil Fuels
1. Immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuels.
2. Divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
Why is this important?
Our local authority has a duty to look out for the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with the public good:investing in them poses a risk to both investors and the planet.
Even President Obama has admitted that 'no challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations than a change in climate'.
Over 97% of scientists now agree that climate change is fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels.
This causes problems both worldwide and within Hampshire, where we will see increasing areas of low lying land become prone to flooding.
Institutions around the world including local government, universities and churches are pulling out of fossil fuels investments and moving towards a cleaner energy future.
It's now time to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in a better future. Financial research has called into question the valuation of fossil fuel companies due to their reliance on reserves which would become unburnable if international carbon legislation comes into effect. Divestment from fossil fuels would minimise the council's exposure to the financial risk of the 'carbon bubble', whereby shareholders risk being left with 'stranded assets' (worthless fuels stocks that regulations will prevent from being burned.)