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  • Members of East Sussex Pension Fund Call for Divestment!
    Burning fossil fuels (oil, coal & gas) is the main driver of climate change. Massive reductions in carbon emissions will be necessary before 2030 if the world’s governments are to follow through on their stated commitment (‘the Paris agreement’) to hold global warming to ‘well below’ 2ºC. Failure to do so would be truly disastrous. In particular, the vast majority of proven reserves of fossil fuels will have to remain in the ground unburnt. Yet despite this, in 2019 the oil and gas industries were forecast to spend $4.9 trillion over the next decade on new oil and gas fields - none of which is compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C. As of 31 December 2020, the East Sussex Pension Fund – the local government pension scheme for East Sussex, Brighton and Hove - had £76.4 million of local people's pensions invested in fossil fuels. These investments not only threaten the climate, but also pose a significant financial danger to the Fund. In 2015 the then-Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warned that investors in these fossil fuels faced ‘potentially huge’ losses from climate change action that could make vast reserves of oil, coal and gas ‘literally unburnable’. After coal demand peaked in 2014, UK public pension funds lost nearly a billion dollars as the value of their coal investments plummeted. Oil and gas are next. And the Council’s policy of ‘engaging’ with fossil fuel companies simply isn’t working. Indeed, despite many years of such ‘engagement’ not a single major oil company has yet re-aligned its business model with a 2ºC world, let alone a 1.5ºC one. And there are no precedents for a company changing its core business model following pressure from shareholders. By getting institutions like the East Sussex Pension Fund to publicly commit to divesting from fossil fuels, we can help to undermine the political power of the fossil fuel companies that continue to block effective action on climate change by the world’s governments. It’s time to divest from fossil fuels. Who supports divesting the East Sussex Pension Fund? - Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Lewes - Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion - Hastings Borough Council - Brighton & Hove City Council - Lewes District Council - Lewes Town Council - UNISON (the public service union) What else can I do? (a) The Council has claimed that 'There’s no evidence that most [East Sussex Pension Fund] members or other stakeholders consider divestment from fossil fuel companies a pressing issue ...' Help prove them wrong by sending a short message to the Chair of the East Sussex Pension Committee, the decision-making body for the Fund. You can do this using our template text (which you can adapt as you see fit) here: https://act.350.org/letter/eastsussex (b) Tell your friends, family and workmates about the campaign (c) If you use social media then follow us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/divesteastsussex] and / or Twitter [https://twitter.com/DivestEast] and share our posts. (c) If you live of work in Brighton or Hove then please also sign this petition to East Sussex County Council demanding that Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) be granted adequate representation on the Pension Committee that controls the Fund (it currently has no representation at all): https://tinyurl.com/bhccrepresentation
    25 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Rob Noyes
  • Stop investing Brighton and Hove's Pension Fund in fossil fuels
    Burning fossil fuels (oil, coal & gas) - which releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - is the main driver of climate change. Massive reductions in carbon emissions will be necessary before 2030 if the world’s governments are to follow through on their stated commitment (‘the Paris agreement’) to hold global warming to ‘well below’ 2ºC, 'pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5º C. Failure to do so would be truly disastrous. In particular, the vast majority of proven reserves of fossil fuels will have to remain in the ground unburnt. Yet despite this, in 2019 the oil and gas industries were forecast to spend $4.9 trillion over the next decade on new oil and gas fields - none of which is compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C. As of 31 December 2020, the East Sussex Pension Fund – the local government pension scheme for East Sussex, Brighton and Hove - had £76.4 million of local people's pensions invested in fossil fuels. These investments not only threaten the climate, but also pose a significant financial danger to the Fund. In 2015 the then-Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warned that investors in these fossil fuels faced ‘potentially huge’ losses from climate change action that could make vast reserves of oil, coal and gas ‘literally unburnable’. After coal demand peaked in 2014, UK public pension funds lost nearly a billion dollars as the value of their coal investments plummeted. Oil and gas are next. And the East Sussex Pension Fund's policy of ‘engaging’ with fossil fuel companies simply isn’t working. Indeed, despite many years of such ‘engagement’ not a single major fossil fuel company has yet re-aligned its business model with a 2ºC world, let alone a 1.5ºC one. And there are no precedents for a company changing its core business model following pressure from shareholders. By getting institutions like the East Sussex Pension Fund to publicly commit to divesting from fossil fuels, we can help to undermine the political power of the fossil fuel companies that continue to block effective action on climate change by the world’s governments. It’s time to divest from fossil fuels. Who supports divesting the East Sussex Pension Fund? - Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Lewes - Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion - Hastings Borough Council - Brighton & Hove City Council - Lewes District Council - Lewes Town Council - UNISON (the public service union) What else can I do? (a) Tell your friends, family and workmates about the campaign and ask them to sign the petition; (b) If you use social media then follow the campaign on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/divesteastsussex] and / or Twitter [https://twitter.com/DivestEast] and share our posts; (c) If you're a member of the Pension Fund then please sign this petition to ESCC, calling on it to divest the Pension Fund from fossil fuels: https://tinyurl.com/memberspetition. The Council has claimed that 'There’s no evidence that most [East Sussex Pension Fund] members or other stakeholders consider divestment from fossil fuel companies a pressing issue ...' Help prove them wrong! You can also send a short message to the Chair of the East Sussex Pension Committee, the decision-making body for the Fund, using this adaptable template: https://act.350.org/letter/eastsussex
    117 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Rob Noyes
  • Devon County Council - Divest from Fossil Fuels
    Pensions are about giving us a secure future. But our future security is fundamentally threatened by climate change. Our pension funds should not be invested in oil, gas and coal companies when we know we must leave 80% of all fossil fuels in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change. Our local authorities have a duty to look after the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with the public good: investing in them poses a risk both to pension members and to the planet. So Devon County Council should take a moral, political and economic stand against them by taking our money away from fossil fuel companies and putting it into investments that are less at risk from climate change legislation. Divestment from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Devon wish to support an alternative, sustainable energy future that will leave the planet in a shape that allows us, our children and grandchildren to live safely on it. .......................................................................................................................................................... Template letter (please adapt and use your own words as much as possible, talking about why this issue is important to you): Dear Councillor In 2019, Devon County Council ranked 14th among UK local authorities for the amount of its pension fund invested in fossil fuels. The Devon Pension Fund had £157 million invested through passive portfolios, with the two main companies being Shell and BP. The core business models of Shell and BP are based on the extraction of fossil fuels with absolutely no prospect of change within the timescales required by the Paris Agreement. Both these companies plan to continue exploration for years to come and are opening new oil wells in UK waters. Brunel Partnership who manage the fund have made a commitment to net zero by 2050 and to reduce the fossil fuel investments of the Devon Pension Fund by a minimum of 7% a year. Such incremental change would have been possible had we begun thirty years ago, but the International Energy Agency (IEA) have concluded that exploitation and development of new oil and gas fields must stop this year and no new coal-fired power stations can be built if the world is to stay within safe limits of global heating. Cllr Bloxham has defended the position of the DCC Pensions and Investment Committee saying that “to achieve real emissions reductions it is vital we engage with the companies we are invested in, to hold them to take responsibility for their products”. Both Shell and BP and many of the others indirectly funded by the DCC Pension Fund have spent decades, and continue today, to spend millions of pounds a year funding lobbying groups to suppress the science, spread misinformation and confusion which has resulted in widespread climate denial and inaction. The best way for DCC to influence these companies is to join the growing number of local authorities and organisations, such as the Methodist Church and many Universities, who have removed their investments and placed them in alternative funds. I therefore demand that: 1) DCC fully divest its pension fund from all fossil fuel investments in the next 12 months 2) DCC informs all pension holders in the Local Government Pension Scheme of the current fossil fuel investments and produces a roadmap for divestment with clear milestones 3) DCC works with the relevant agencies to develop and fund a low carbon investment programme for Devon The safety and security of the people you represent depend on strong action on the climate crisis. Divest Now!
    786 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Maurice Spurway
  • DivestSurrey
    Right now the Surrey Pension Fund has around £90 million invested directly in climate wrecking fossil fuels despite the efforts of our DivestSurrey campaign and many similar campaign groups across Surrey to persuade them to divest. Thousands of people across the country are asking why local authority pension funds such as ours in Surrey deem it acceptable to fund companies like BP who have a committed £41 billion looking for new fossil fuel reserves over the next decade. It is absolutely senseless! Help us persuade the Surrey Pension Fund to remove these investments by signing up to our campaign. Many thanks Steve McDonald
    761 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Steve McDonald
  • Suffolk County Council: Divest from fossil fuel
    Suffolk County Council says it wants to be the “Greenest county” yet its latest pension fund figures (September 2015) showed it had £11 million worth of Shell shares – 5% of its total holding in UK shares. Campaign groups estimate that in 2014 it held in total £117 million worth of fossil fuel assets. [1] All local authorities in Suffolk contribute to this pension fund, including Ipswich Borough Council, Waveney District Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, Forest Heath District Council and Babergh District Council Investing in fossil fuel creates a risk both to members of the pension fund and to the planet. Respected financial analysts warn that fossil fuel companies are likely to be over-valued due to their reliance on reserves in the ground which will become worthless if carbon legislation comes into effect. [2] Only a fraction of fossil fuel companies' reserves may be extracted and burned whilst keeping within the 2°C climatic warming target agreed by the world's Governments at international climate negotiations. [3] Suffolk should sell its fossil fuel investments and follow the example of several other local authorities who have invested cash in local sustainable projects such renewable energy, energy efficiency or building much needed energy efficient social homes. This blog by Friends of the Earth Scotland gives some examples. http://www.blog.foe-scotland.org.uk/index.php/2015/06/6-local-governments/ This would provide local jobs, a stronger local economy and reliable long term, low risk returns for the pension fund. [1] http://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/ [2] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/19/carbon-bubble-financial-crash-crisis [3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30709211
    633 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Anna Gretton
  • Divest New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) from Fossil Fuels
    Currently, climate change is threatening the very foundations of sustainable human life around the planet. As teachers and residents of New York State, it is our responsibility to live and work in a sustainable fashion. The ability of our children and grandchildren to thrive and prosper now and in the future, here in New York and beyond, is the primary goal of each and every teacher. Please help us do the right thing for their sake.
    25 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Joseph Montuori
  • #ExitSpiritEnergy: Stadtwerke München raus aus der Förderung fossiler Brennstoffe!
    Um ihren beschlossenen klimapolitischen Zielen „Klimaneutralität 2035“ gerecht zu werden und den Klimanotstand ernst zu nehmen, muss die Stadt München endlich konsequent handeln und mit gutem Beispiel vorangehen. Der Großteil der fossilen Reserven von Öl und Gas muss aber weltweit ungenutzt im Boden bleiben, um das +1,5 Grad Celsius Ziel aus dem Pariser Abkommen gerade noch zu erreichen. Somit laufen die SWM zudem ernste Gefahr, dass ihre Investitionen in Spirit Energy massive Wertverluste erleiden und als stranded assets, „gescheiterte Investitionen“, abgeschrieben werden müssen. Das wären verlorene Millionen-Beträge der SWM zulasten der Stadt München, ihrer Bürger*innen und Steuerzahler*innen. Die bayerische Gemeindeordnung erlaubt der Stadt München und ihrer Tochter Stadtwerke nur die für die kommunale Daseinsvorsorge Münchens elementaren Aufgaben und Tätigkeiten wahrzunehmen z.B. im Energie- und Wärmesektor, nicht aber die Spekulation am Weltmarkt, um dort Gewinne zu erzielen. Angesichts der weltweiten Fördermengen und der sinkenden Preise ist die Erdöl- und Erdgasförderung der SWM in der Nordsee für den europäischen und globalen Markt in keiner Weise mit der Brennstoffversorgung für München zu begründen. Langfristig und nachhaltig kann die Versorgungssicherheit für München nur durch erneuerbare Energien sichergestellt werden. Deshalb: verbindlicher Ausstieg aus fossilen Brennstoffen! Diese Petition wurde gestartet von folgenden Organisationen: Fossil Free München,Fridays For Future München, Students For Future München, Green City e.V., Netzwerk Klimaherbst e.V., Extinction Rebellion Munich, AG ÖkoSozial, Parents For Future München, Protect the Planet, Bündnis Raus aus der Steinkohle, WissenLeben e.V., rehab republic e.V., NordSüd Forum München e.V., Landesbund für Vogelschutz (LBV) Kreisgruppe München, Oekom e.V., Münchner Initiative Nachhaltigkeit (MIN)
    1,830 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Marita Matschke
  • Den Haag Fossielvrij
    Wij willen Den Haag fossielvrij om deze redenen: VERSNELD OVERSCHAKELEN OP DUURZAME ENERGIE Elk jaar dat we eerder afstappen van fossiele brandstoffen betekent minder onherstelbare en onnodige klimaatschade. Onnodig, want volgens sommige wetenschappers kan de transitie naar 100% duurzame energie al in 10 jaar* voor elkaar zijn. Het idee van Fossielvrij: als investeerders hun geld massaal terugtrekken uit de fossiele industrie, en dat geld opnieuw investeren in schone energie, kan de wereld al veel sneller overschakelen op 100% schone energie. INWONERS VAN DEN HAAG BESCHERMEN Geen land ter wereld kan de gevolgen van die opwarming ontvluchten. Ook Den Haag zou miljarden** moeten investeren om onze kust te beschermen tegen de stijgende zeespiegel. Volgens de laatste onderzoeken van enkele wetenschappers kan het zeeniveau over 80 jaar al met enkele meters*** gestegen zijn. Zolang fossiele brandstoffen de normaalste zaak van de wereld blijven, is elke maatregel om de kust te beschermen, dweilen met de kraan open. FINANCIËLE KWETSBAARHEID VERKLEINEN De Nederlandsche Bank, The Bank of England en 's werelds grootste vermogensbeheerder BlackRock waarschuwen**** ook voor de financiële risico's van fossiele investeringen. 80% van de voorraden kolen, olie en gas mogen niet gebruikt worden, volgens de Klimaattop in Parijs. Daarom zijn fossiele bedrijven overgewaardeerd op de beurs. Het is wachten tot de zeepbel (carbon bubble) knapt. Organisaties met veel fossiele aandelen zijn extreem kwetsbaar. MOREEL LEIDERSCHAP TONEN Gemeente Den Haag is de Internationale Stad van Vrede en Recht. Hoe krom zou het zijn als onze stad rijker zou worden van investeringen die klimaatoorlogen en klimaatvluchtelingen veroorzaken? Den Haag heeft een morele verantwoordelijkheid om zelf het goede voorbeeld geven. Door geld terug te trekken uit de fossiele industrie. En bedrijven, overheden van landen en steden aan te spreken op hun verantwoordelijkheid om alles op alles te zetten om klimaatontwrichting te stoppen. ------------------------- Voor wie precies wil weten hoe het zit: * Volgens wetenschappers van de University of Sussex kan de energietransitie al binnen 10 jaar voltooid zijn: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629615300827 ** The London School of Economics heeft in het Stern Review (2007) aangetoond dat het veel goedkoper is om nu de CO2-uitstoot drastisch te beperken, dan om maatregelen te nemen om ons te beschermen tegen de gevolgen van klimaatontwrichting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern_Review ***Klimaatwetenschappers hebben onderzocht dat door het smelten van Antartica het zeeniveau rond 2100 al met enkele meters gestegen kan zijn – behalve als we heel snel stoppen met kolen, olie en gas. http://www.nature.com/articles/nature17145.epdf http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/3761/2016/acp-16-3761-2016.html **** Artikelen over de financiële risico's van investeringen in de fossiele industrie: http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/2016/03/04/dnb-nederlandse-economie-moet-af-van-kolen-olie-1598050 http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/03/21/bank-of-england-regulator-warns-of-growing-climate-risks/ https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-mx/literature/whitepaper/bii-pricing-climate-risk-international.pdf https://hbr.org/2016/04/the-data-says-climate-change-could-cost-investors-trillions
    1,235 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Femke Sleegers
  • Divest Brent Council from Fossil Fuels
    We believe divestment from fossil fuels to be not only ethically and environmentally correct, but also financially prudent. Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has encountered. The 20 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1981 and 2016 was the hottest ever [1]. Higher average temperatures are directly linked to extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. Scientists have unanimously concluded that these changes are a consequence of human activity, arising from the burning of fossil fuels [2]. Moreover, this activity has resulted in unprecedented levels of air pollution, now regarded as a major world killer [3]. In a speech at Lloyd’s of London in September 2015, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England said that by the time ‘climate change becomes a defining issue for financial stability, it may already be too late’. Carney warned investors that policies to address climate change ‘would render the vast majority of reserves ‘stranded’ – oil, gas and coal that will be literally unburnable’ [4]. In order to continue developing fossil fuel reserves – particularly in the difficult areas where the remaining reserves are located (including the Arctic, the mouth of the Amazon and tar sands in sensitive areas) the developing companies need investment – divestment is a way of cutting off the funds needed to carry out these damaging activities. It also sends a powerful signal to the companies and others that it is time to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy. References: [0] http://tinyurl.com/lmskfgk [1] http://tinyurl.com/y9tkm4sn [2] http://tinyurl.com/3e3zv [3] http://tinyurl.com/pqgdd5q [4] http://tinyurl.com/ycspl5sg
    1,414 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Simon Erskine
  • LWL - raus aus Kohle, Öl und Erdgas - angefangen bei RWE!
    Der LWL hält 6,6 Mio. Aktien der RWE AG. Die Lokalgruppe Fossil Free Münster setzt sich seit vier Jahren für den Verkauf dieser Aktien ein. RWE ist der größte CO2-Emittent Europas und war zuletzt 2018 massiv in die Kritik geraten für seinen Umgang mit dem schützenswerten Hambacher Forst, im Zuge dessen es zu bundesweiten Protesten kam. Noch immer besitzen kommunale Anteilseigner*innen wie der LWL über 90 Mio. Aktien von RWE, ca. 20 % des Aktiengesamtvolumens. Im Jahr 2015 hatte die Fraktion der Grünen einen Antrag auf Divestment im LWL eingereicht, der jedoch abgelehnt wurde. Seitdem hat sich viel getan im LWL. Unter dem weiter aufrechterhaltenen Druck von Fossil Free Münster setzte sich Landesdirektor Matthias Löb für die Auflösung, bzw. Abänderung der Satzung zahlreicher Beteiligungsgesellschaften an RWE ein. Zuvor war es dem LWL und weiteren Kommunen wegen der Knebelverträge dieser Beteiligungsgesellschaften nur sehr schwer möglich gewesen, überhaupt auf ihre Aktien zuzugreifen und diese zu verkaufen. Die gute Nachricht: Seit April 2018 hat der LWL wieder die Hoheit über seine Aktien. Am 16. und 17. Mai steht nun eine Vorlage zur Beschlussfassung bereit, in der der Verkauf von drei Viertel aller Aktien in drei Tranchen im Laufe der kommenden zwei Jahre festgelegt werden soll. Direktor Löb begründet den Verkauf vor allem finanzwirtschaftlich. CDU und SPD, die GroKo-Parteien im LWL sind sich noch unschlüssig über ihr Stimmverhalten. Dass dieser Beschluss also gefasst wird, ist noch sehr unsicher. Aus klimapolitischer Sicht ist dieser Beschluss nicht ausreichend. Für eine deutliche Abgrenzung von RWEs zerstörerischem Verhalten muss der LWL alle seine Aktien verkaufen. Nur so bezieht er eine klare Position und verhält sich seinem Motto „Wir unternehmen Gutes“ angemessen. Sollte der LWL seine Aktien abstoßen, hat dies eine Signalwirkung auch an weitere kommunale Anteilseigner. Der Klimavertrag von Paris leutete eindeutig das Ende der fossilen Energien ein. Die globale Erderwärmung - bereits spürbar auch in Deutschland - kann nur aufgehalten werden, indem wir Kohle, Öl und Gas im Boden lassen. Zum Hintergrund: Wenn wir den Klimawandel auf unter 2º Celsius begrenzen wollen, darf der Großteil der fossilen Energiereserven wie Kohle, Öl und Gas nicht verbrannt werden und es müssen radikale Maßnahmen zur Minderung der globalen CO2-Emissionen getroffen werden. Alles andere würde eine Destabilisierung des Klimas mit katastrophalen Folgen für Mensch und Natur nach sich ziehen. Außerdem ist damit zu rechnen, dass Unternehmen im fossilen Sektor in den kommenden Jahren stark an Wert verlieren werden, weil sie ihre Rohstoffvorkommen nicht mehr fördern und verkaufen können. Die Finanzwelt spricht von einer Kohlenstoffblase, die kurz davor ist zu platzen. Damit stellen Investitionen in fossile Energien ein hohes finanzielles Risiko dar. Die jüngsten Verluste von RWE und Eon verdeutlichen bereits heute, dass das Geschäftsmodell des fossilen Sektors nicht zukunftsfähig ist. Überall auf der Welt ziehen daher Städte, Gemeinden, Kirchen, Universitäten, Stiftungen und andere Institutionen, ihre Investments aus den 200 größten Kohle-, Erdöl- und Erdgasunternehmen ab. Seit sich Münster als erste Stadt Deutschlands, die sich der Divestment-Bewegung angeschlossen hat und ab 2016 ihre Pensionsfonds ohne Kohle, Öl und Erdgas führt, haben mit Stuttgart, Bremen und Berlin weitere deutsche Städte nachgezogen. Mit den Divestment-Unis Münster und Göttingen distanziert sich auch die Wissenschaft deutlich vom fossilen Sektor. Ein solches Divestment erreicht zweierlei: Einerseits schützt es vor den Gefahren zukünftiger Wertverluste und sichert so nachhaltig die finanzielle Stabilität eines institutionellen Investors. Andererseits entzieht es klimaschädlichen Unternehmen die gesellschaftliche Zustimmung und trägt so zu dem Wandel bei, der aufgrund der Klimakrise notwendig geworden ist. Weltweit haben bereits über 1000 Institutionen ein Gesamtvermögen von über € 7 Milliarden deinvestiert und so von der fossilen Brennstoffindustrie abgezogen. Der LWL kann nun, wie die Stadt Münster, eine Vorbildrolle einnehmen und zeigen, dass eine nachhaltige Finanzpolitik mit Rücksicht auf Natur und zukünftige Generationen möglich ist. Die globale Klimakampagne Fossil Free arbeitet mit Städten, Universitäten, Kirchen und anderen Institutionen in Europa, USA, Australien, Neuseeland, Japan, Kanada und Afrika zusammen, um gemeinsam gegen den Klimawandel und für eine lebenswerte Zukunft einzutreten.
    1,359 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Christine Langkamp