To: Governor Ned Lamont & Connecticut State Senators & Representatives
Divest Connecticut from Fossil Fuels!
We demand that the political leaders of the State of Connecticut address the effects of human induced climate destabilization by investing in a renewable energy future for the citizens of Connecticut, and by immediately divesting the assets of the State of Connecticut from any company which has as a principal business the extraction, production, or manufacture of fossil fuels. We urge the Connecticut State Legislature to pass legislation to create a divestment plan to phase out these investments by 2025.
Why is this important?
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’.
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’.
