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To: University of California Board of Regents

Divest the $45B University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) from Fossil Fuels

As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the University of California Board of Regents to instruct the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents, who manages the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP), 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 our University will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

Why is this important?

The UCRP portfolio currently includes significant holdings in multiple fossil fuel companies. This list includes direct holdings of Pemex ($26m), Petrobras ($23m), Phillips 66 ($4m), Valero ($3.5m), Suncor Energy ($1.3m), Statoil ($7.8m), Shell ($5m), Petroleos de Venezuela ($8.4m), and Petrobakken Energy Ltd. ($1.5m), among others, along with multiple diversified funds which themselves contain significant fossil fuel holdings.

University of California employees are mandated to contribute a portion of their earnings to the UCRP pension fund, and are therefore mandated to invest in fossil fuel companies. UC employees deserve to have a say in how their money is being invested, and should be able to opt out of investments that are causing --- and profiting from -- climate change.

In 2006, the State of California passed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. This bill establishes State carbon emissions reduction goals to be achieved by 2020 and 2050, and instructs State agencies to take immediate action to create or modify policies to align with these emission reduction goals. The University of California system is under the purview of the California State government and its policies should therefore be consistent with the goals established by the governor in the Global Warming Solutions Act. The investing in and profiting from increased extraction and consumption of carbon-emitting fossil fuels through the holding of fossil fuel companies' securities is in direct contradiction to the directives of the State government, as expressed through Assembly Bill 32.
http://www.ucop.edu/investment-office/_files/invpol/UCRP_Holdings.pdf

Oakland, CA, United States

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Updates

2016-04-29 11:55:00 -0400

25 signatures reached

2014-03-12 17:58:08 -0400

10 signatures reached