Nearby Petitions

Cities & States

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  Divest Derbyshire

  1. Derbyshire County Council Pension Fund has £290 million invested in fossil fuel industries, including Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Rio Tinto. Fossil fuel industries make up nearly 6% of the pension fund. 2. The pension fund affects over 170 employers in Derbyshire including Derbyshire County Council, all the borough and District Councils in Derbyshire [1]; Derby City Council; Chesterfield College; Derby College; Derbyshire Fire Authority; Derbyshire Police Authority; Peak District National Park Authority; University of Derby and a large group of smaller employers. 3. 97% of climate scientists agree that humans are the primary cause of recent climate change, largely due to the release of greenhouse gases from the combustion of oil, coal and gas for heat and power. Climate change is happening now - we’re already experiencing global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. [2] Whole ecosystems are threatened, and people's lives are at risk due to flooding, food and water insecurity, creating climate change refugees. [3] 4. In order to stop the global climate warming by 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and avert global catastrophe, 80% of all known fossil fuels must stay in the ground. [4] By removing investments in fossil fuel companies Derbyshire County Council will be showing its commitment to creating a healthy, sustainable future for both the people of Derbyshire and the planet as a whole. 5. There is also a financial argument to divest from fossil fuels. The need and growing political pressure to leave as much of our fossil fuels in the ground make the risk of stranded assets (worthless fuel stocks that regulation will prevent from being burned) very real. [5] At the same time it is becoming more expensive both to find and to extract the remaining fuel deposits, while, renewable energy technology is becoming more efficient and less expensive. [6]. Both of these factors create risks for investors. People and institutions that own shares in fossil fuel companies will see the value of their investments decrease. [7,8] 6. Institutions across the world including churches and universities, the Environment Agency [9] as well as local authorities in the UK such as Bristol City Council and Oxford City Council have already committed to divest from fossil fuels. [10] Let's see Derbyshire join them in making this small but impactful commitment. This petition is supported by the following Derbyshire organisations (in alphabetical order): Amber Valley Against Fracking; Calow Against Gas Extraction (CAGE); Chesterfield and District TUC; Chesterfield Climate Alliance; Clay Cross Against Fracking; Creswell Against Fracking; Derby Climate Coalition; Eckington Against Fracking; Glossopdale Transition Initiative; Melbourne Area Transition; Sustainable Edale; Sustainable Hayfield; Transition Belper; Transition Buxton; Transition Chesterfield; Transition Hope Valley; Transition Matlock; Transition New Mills. Transition Wirksworth; University of Derby Students’ Union. Please let us know if you would like your group to be added to this list. A hard copy of this petition can be downloaded from www.transitionchesterfield.org/divest-derbyshire/ Notes [1] Amber Valley Borough Council; Bolsover District Council; Chesterfield Borough Council; Derby City Council; Derbyshire Dales District Council; Erewash Borough Council;; High Peak Borough Council; North East Derbyshire District Council; South Derbyshire District Council [2] http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ [3] www.unhcr.org/pages/49e4a5096.html [4] www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30709211 [5] www.carbontracker.org/report/wasted-capital-and-stranded-assets/ [6] www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10957292/Fossil-industry-is-the-subprime-danger-of-this-cycle.html [7] www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/03/bank-of-england-warns-of-financial-risk-from-fossil-fuel-investments [8] www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/12/millions-wiped-off-uk-local-government-pensions-due-to-coal-crash-analysis-shows [9] www.eapf.org.uk/en/news-feed [10] http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/

  451 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Lisa Hopkinson
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  North Yorkshire Fossil Fuel Divestment

  The North Yorkshire Pension Fund Committee could, like a growing number of other Local Authority-administered Pension Funds, adopt a strategy of steady 'divestment and re-investment'. This means moving away from investing in an increasingly unstable and more costly fossil fuel dependency towards a cleaner, cheaper and ultimately more profitable renewable future, which will enable local communities across North Yorkshire and beyond to benefit. To help achieve this, we are asking the Pension Fund Committee to: 1. Freeze any new investment in the top 200 publicly-traded fossil fuel companies[1] at the earliest opportunity [1] The Carbon Underground 200 Project, at http://fossilfreeindexes.com/research/the-carbon-underground 2. Commit to a policy of divesting or withdrawing from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds over the next 5 years; and of re-investing in a new carbon-free portfolio of more local, ethical and renewable energy technologies and infrastructure developments 3. Include these action points above in the Pension Fund Committee’s Investment Strategy Statement, with effect from the earliest possible date. (* Adapted from the petition model in the Gofossilfree campaign’s guidance – see Local Government Guide at https://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/#action )

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  Created by Mike Barron
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  Divest Gonzaga University from Fossil Fuels

  Gonzaga University occupies a special place in the academic landscape. As a humanistic Jesuit institution, it strives to prepare its students to be actively engaged with the world in which they live; advocate for social justice; serve the common good; be innovative, critical thinkers; and live ethically. One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is climate change and its effects – effects that greatly impact the most vulnerable and powerless in society. Millions are threatened by rising sea levels, intensification of extreme weather events, flooding, droughts, food insecurity, and the resulting social and political instabilities. The scientific consensus is overwhelming: the current rise in global temperature and disruption of climate patterns has anthropogenic origins – specifically, the deforestation of large tracts of land and the extraction and use of fossil fuels. If left unchecked, these actions will bring the average global temperature to a level which threatens to destroy countless ecosystems. This is already beginning to happen. We are requesting the Board of Trustees to seize the opportunity to be at the forefront of a divestment movement that demonstrates the responsible stewardship of Gonzaga’s financial resources in accordance with the principles of the mission statement and ultimately seeks to care for our common home. We feel it would show the world just how special Gonzaga truly is.

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  Created by Kathryn O'Brien
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  Make Maplewood Fossil Fuel Free

  Burlington, Vermont, Aspen, Colorado, and Greenberg, Kansas have all successfully transitioned to 100% renewable energy, and many more cites across the country are setting ambitious goals to go fossil fuel free. As a town in a state that was heavily affected by Superstorm Sandy, I think it is in an economic and moral imperative that we set an example for the rest of the Garden State and rid ourselves of our dependance on fossil fuels. I believe Maplewood is uniquely suited to this challenge: we have a town full of community oriented, socially conscious individuals and families whom I believe would welcome such an exciting and ambitious challenge. Hopefully, we can set an example for other small towns to do the same. As a result of human consumption of fossil fuels, earth has an atmospheric concentration 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and we’re adding 2 ppm of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year. Unless we are able to rapidly turn that around and return to below 350 ppm this century, we risk triggering tipping points and irreversible impacts that could send climate change spinning truly beyond our control. We owe it to our children to do everything we can to leave a safe and livable planet for them. Let's do our part, and let's do it together.

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  Created by Diane Davis
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  Defund DAPL: Divest Boise from U.S. Bank

  U.S. Bank is providing capital for construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Thousands have gathered in North Dakota to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's efforts to protect their ancestral Tribal lands and to protect the water. Divestment campaigns are underway worldwide because people all over the world understand that the fossil fuel economy and pipelines that transport fossil fuels contribute to global warming, and threaten our clean water supply. Since October, the citizens of Boise have held regular rallies and public forums to discuss the best way we can support the Standing Rock Sioux, and take steps to protect human health. Divesting from institutions that fund DAPL sends a powerful message that we are a community united in the conviction that socially and environmentally responsible decisions are, from here on out, a vital part of the way we conduct our business and our lives.

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  Created by Ann Ford
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  Divest from Fossil Fuels!

  Our local government has 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. It's time to divest from fossil fuels now!

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  Created by Peter Scott
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  Divest Barnet's council Pension fund From Fossil fuel Investments.

  The fossil fuel industry currently holds vast carbon reserves which if burnt would result in emissions 5 times larger than what it is deemed to be safe. All available evidence suggests that fossil fuel companies intend to burn the reserves within their control. In addition, companies such as Shell are actively trying to discover new reserves, often in environmentally sensitive region]. For future generations.The use of fossil fuels is damaging the earth to near irreprable limits. 76% of all climate scientists agree. Barnet Borough Council has Invested over £30 million of pension funds in companies that use fossil fuels. These companies are Multi Nationals.Oil companies are not a good Investment at the present time.

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  Created by John Pettigrove
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  Divest Dumfries & Galloway Council's Pension Fund from Fossil Fuels

  Dumfries & Galloway Council has aspirations to be Europe's first carbon neutral region, yet its pension fund is the most heavily invested in fossil fuels in the whole of Scotland. Currently, the fund has more than £28 million invested directly in fossil fuels and almost another £50 million in projected indirect investment. These investment decisions make a mockery of the Council's own sustainability and climate change goals. Instead of fueling the climate crisis, it's time for Dumfries & Galloway Council to take a stand and divest from fossil fuels. The more than £78 million invested in fossil fuels could be directed to renewable energy in the Council's own area, promoting the potential for clean, green technologies in the region and boosting employment and infrastructure. With such a large fossil fuel investment (9.4% of their total fund), we would like to see D&G Council implement a 5-year plan to move to total fossil fuel divestment. Fossil fuels are the technology of the 20th century, not the 21st. Stocks in fossil fuels are volatile and the industry is preparing itself for a significant future loss of revenue caused by increasing extraction costs, falling quantities of available fuels and increasing public outrage at the lack of action on climate change. Our people and our planet can no longer afford to delay climate action.

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  Created by Laura Moodie
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  Divest Oxfordshire from fossil fuels

  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 both to investors and to the planet. So Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire 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 and more compatible with our values. Divestment from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Oxfordshire 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. Financial research has called into question the valuations of fossil fuel companies due to their reliance on reserves which may become unburnable if carbon legislation comes into effect.

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  Created by Al Chisholm
• Berkshire Pension Fund: Divest from Fossil Fuels

  It is estimated that the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund has over 97 million pounds invested indirectly in fossil fuels. If fossil fuel companies extract and burn just 20% of the reserves they hold, this will cause catastrophic climate change (extreme weather, food shortages and conflict). The urgency of stopping climate change requires that we progressively stop burning fossil fuels now. It is irresponsible and immoral for public bodies and pension funds to invest in fossil fuel extraction companies and instead they should, where possible, direct investment into 'green energy' infrastructure.

  273 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Rob White