Nearby Petitions

All Petitions

• A CALL TO DIVEST AVON PENSION FUND FROM FOSSIL FUELS

  There is strong evidence (1) that the impact on climate change of burning even the known reserves of fossil fuels will create an unsustainable environment for the generations to come, and untold suffering to countless living beings. This fact will impact negatively on the value of investments in the industries concerned with fossil fuel extraction. Using just the fossil fuel reserves listed on the world’s stock markets would be enough to take us beyond 2°C of global warming (2). This means that more than 80 per cent of the world's known coal reserves, 30 per cent of known oil and 50 per cent of gas reserves need to stay in the ground and drilling in the Arctic is out of the question if we're to stay below two degrees. Recent drops in the oil price add to the uncertainty surrounding fossil fuels and the financial viability of some extractions presenting opportunities to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels (3). In defiance of mainstream research evidence and international policy (4), fossil fuel companies continue to extract and burn as much carbon as possible to maximise their profits. Despite the very high probability of planetary disaster they show no intention of switching away from their core business model. Our local council has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying the very future for ourselves and for our children that personal investment in a pension seeks to enhance. Instead it should reinvest in solutions to climate change. We won’t see any political progress on climate change until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. Divestment for fossil fuel investments would also minimise the council's exposure to the financial risk of the 'carbon bubble', whereby shareholders risk being left with stranded assets (worthless fuel stocks that regulation will prevent from being burned). It is a paradox that pension funds providing income for the future should at the same time be investing in the fossil fuel industry which if left to its own devices will exploit more of the fossil fuel reserves than we can safely use! Institutions around the world including local government, universities and churches are pulling out of fossil fuel investments and moving towards a clean energy future (5) It's time to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in clean energy now for inescapable moral and economic reasons. Bristol City Council have recently agreed to make a commitment to no direct investments in the fossil fuel industry and globally over 30 cities and municipalities have already committed to divestment. At present Bristol City Council’s funds are not directly linked to the fossil fuel industry. However, the Avon Pension Fund does have significant fossil fuel investments and so Bristol City Council would need to work with adjoining councils within the Avon Pension Fund to freeze and withdraw those investments. Shareholders (including pension funds) have started to challenge Exxon, Shell and BP to show how their business model is compatible with a 2 degree temperature rise (6). Some argue that engaging with fossil fuel companies is a more effective tactic than divestment. But Jonathon Porritt, one of the UK’s most esteemed environmentalists who spent years working on sustainability projects with BP and Shell, earlier this year said engagement was now futile because “hydrocarbon supremacists” at the companies had successfully ousted reformers wanting to diversify into green energy. Divestment, therefore, seems to be an unavoidable step to halting the damage and suffering which will ensue unless timely action is taken. 1 http://350.org/about/science/ 2 http://math.350.org/ 3 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530043.100-over-a-barrel-falling-oil-prices-and-the-environment.html http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029415.700-an-oil-crash-is-on-its-way-and-we-should-be-ready.html#.VNI0c9kgGc0 4 http://www.ipcc.ch/ 5 http://zerocarbonbritain.org/index.php/zcb-latest-report 6 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/21/bp-challenged-confront-climate-change-risk-by-shareholders

  983 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by richard lawrence
• 

  I ♥ BC Fossil Free

  It is simple: if it is wrong to destroy the planet, then it is wrong to profit from that destruction. Divesting from fossil fuel and tar sands companies supports Broward College's vision to "stand at the leading edge of technological and environmentally sound innovation." Divesting from fossil fuels also supports two of Broward College's core values: a commitment to sustainability by "ensuring efficient use of college resources while implementing fiscally sound practices and environmentally sustainable initiatives that can be modeled in collaboration with our community," and integrity "by fostering an environment of respect,dignity, and compassion that affirms and empowers all its members while striving for the highest ethical standards and social responsibility." In addition, Broward College's divestment from fossil fuel and tar sands companies also supports the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission six core values: Integrity Continuous Quality Improvement Peer Review/Self-regulation Accountability Student Learning Transparency By divesting from the fossil fuel industry, Broward College can help to discredit the fossil fuel companies so that they loose their influence over our government. By joining the growing number of education institutions, churches, towns, and states across the country, Broward College can help bring pressure to bear on government and industry to act now to slow climate change and rising sea-levels which threaten the security of our land, food supply, drinking water, health, property values and the overall future of our planet.

  51 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Giovanni Bonelli
• 

  Divest Tower Hamlets

  Tower Hamlets Council currently has an estimated £91,764,000 invested in fossil fuel companies. This represents 8.76% of their fund. Ethically, environmentally and economically, there is no justification for such holdings. These investments directly undermine Tower Hamlets' own commitment to 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 [2] as they are directly fueling ever riskier, costlier forms of extraction, which no longer represent the relatively bankable return they have been historically as the fossil fuel energy market grows ever more volatile. Climate change is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced. The 20 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1981 and 2014 was the hottest ever [3] with 2015 on course to take that unenviable title [4]. Higher average temperatures are directly linked to extreme weather events such as intensified heatwaves; longer more arid droughts; wilder forest fires; stronger, more frequent storms and the resultant flooding; and glacier melt has increased drastically, which not only means rising sea-levels but more of the suns rays being absorbed rather than reflected back, causing a further increase in temperatures. Climate change does not just manifest itself in these ever worsening weather patterns. A recent study [5] attributed the record 2007 - 2010 drought in Syria as a reason for farmers abandoning their land for the city, where their presence has been a major factor in the social unrest that led to the war that has ravaged the country ever since [6]. We now see this being played out in the form of the humanitarian and political crises with which Europe is now struggling to cope. Such events are only going to increase as our shared world becomes hotter and drier. National borders are meaningless in the face of hostile weather. Moreover, worsening levels of air pollution are now regarded as a major world killer [7]. In Tower Hamlets an estimated 138 people a year die as a result of air pollution [8]. At the core of all these problems is the burning of fossil fuels. Scientists have unanimously concluded that these changes are a consequence of human activity, arising from the burning of fossil fuels [9]. The fossil fuel industry have taken a threefold approach to this. Firstly, they have spent significant amounts of money to create a body of disruptive disinformation campaigns that undermine climate science in the minds of the general public [10]. Secondly, they have created a lobbying juggernaut to flatten any political efforts to limit global warming [11]. Thirdly, they have expanded their business practice to focus on ever riskier, costlier and ultimately more disastrous extraction methods such as fracking and deep-water drilling; the latter having led to the largest marine oil spill in history [12]. If it is wrong to continue to wreck the Earth’s climate, then it follows that it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. There are also increasing indications that the profitability of the fossil fuel industry will decrease significantly in coming years. If action is taken to limit global warming and a large degree of carbon reserves are left in the ground, shares in fossil fuel companies will drop significantly in value [13]. As such, pension funds currently investing in fossil fuels risk exposure to this 'carbon bubble', while there is already evidence that fossil fuel-free portfolios are capable of out-performing those including fossil fuel investments [14]. For in depth analyses of these and related risks, see: http://gofossilfree.org/frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.carbontracker.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/fossil-fuel-divestment 'Do The Math' documentary: https://youtu.be/KuCGVwJIRd0 References [1] http://fossilfreeindexes.com/research/the-carbon-underground/ [2] http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/environment_and_planning/sustainability/carbon_reduction.aspx [3] http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/201412 [4] http://www.weather.com/news/climate/news/earth-warmest-january-may-2015 [5] http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241 [6] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150302-syria-war-climate-change-drought/ [7] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/air-pollution/en/ [8] http://www.itv.com/news/london/2015-07-15/londons-toxic-air-how-is-your-london-borough-affected/ [9] http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf [10] http://www.fossilfreemit.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FossilFreeMIT-Lobbying-Disinformation.pdf [11] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/25/fossil-fuel-firms-are-still-bankrolling-climate-denial-lobby-groups [12] http://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-of-2010 [13] http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf [14] https://www.msci.com/resources/factsheets/index_fact_sheet/msci-acwi-ex-fossil-fuels-index-gbp-gross.pdf

  1,125 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Patrick McFadden
• 

  Schützen Sie unsere Ozeane vor Offshore-Bohrungen

  Kein Verschütten. Kein Töten. Kein Bohren mehr. Das Weiße Haus veröffentlichte Anfang Januar einen Entwurf, um die Offshore-Bohrungen im Jahr 2019 dramatisch auszuweiten. Die Trump-Regierung versucht, fast alle Bundesgewässer für potenzielle Öl- und Gasbohrmietverträge zu öffnen. Es ist ein großer Fehler. Und wir brauchen Sie, um dem Chor der Ozeanliebhaber in der ganzen Nation beizutreten, die sich dafür einsetzen, Sonderinteressen durch die Zerstörung unserer Küsten zu stoppen. Bitte machen Sie Ihre Stimme, bevor dieser gefährliche Vorschlag unsere Realität wird. Öl und Wasser vermischen sich nicht, wie jüngste Verschüttungen zeigen. Und die Bemühungen zur Förderung fossiler Brennstoffe verursachen weiterhin extreme wirtschaftliche Schäden. Im Jahr 1969 pumpte ein Brunnen vor der Küste von Santa Barbara fast 4 Millionen Gallonen Rohöl in den Pazifik und an die Strände von Südkalifornien. Seitdem haben lokale Gesetzgeber und die Öffentlichkeit in Kalifornien unermüdlich daran gearbeitet, zu verhindern, dass Lecks und Lecks unsere Umwelt und die 18 Milliarden US-Dollar teure Küstenwirtschaft ruinieren, indem sie neue Öl- und Gasbohrmieten Offshore in Bundesgewässern zurückweisen. Eine geplatzte Pipeline spuckte 2015 über 100.000 Gallonen Rohöl auf die biologisch vielfältige und unberührte Gaviota Coast, westlich von Refugio State Beach in der Nähe von Santa Barbara, Kalifornien, mit geschätzten 21.000 Gallonen bis zum Wasser. Der Refugio-Spill tötete Hunderte von Meereslebewesen, schloss wochenlang beliebte Strände und schloss die Fischerei für 138 Quadratmeilen, was die kommerziellen und Freizeitangler der Gegend schwer traf. Die katastrophale Explosion und Verschüttung der Deepwater Horizon hat 11 Menschenleben gefordert und 2010 im Golf von Mexiko Schäden von mehr als 17 Milliarden Dollar verursacht. Lasst uns kein weiteres Desaster riskieren. Jetzt ist NICHT die Zeit, Sicherheitsstandards zurückzusetzen und hart umkämpfte Schutzmaßnahmen aufzugeben. Vertreter aus Kalifornien haben Maßnahmen ergriffen, um sicherzustellen, dass unsere Staatsgewässer nicht bis zu drei Meilen vor der Küste vordringen. Gewählte Beamte aus anderen Staaten, einschließlich Oregon, Washington, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina und South Carolina haben auch starken Widerstand gegen Offshore-Bohrungen in Bundesgesetzen laut Wasser, das als Angriff auf die jeweilige lokale Wirtschaft, Souveränität und unsere unschätzbaren natürlichen Ressourcen angesehen wird. Wir müssen uns nicht zwischen einer geschäftigen Volkswirtschaft und sauberen, sicheren und gesunden lokalen Umgebungen entscheiden. Wir können beides haben. Der Erfolg von Meeresschutzgebieten entlang der kalifornischen Küste beweist, dass intelligente Investitionen, die unsere Umwelt schützen, der Fischerei und dem Tourismus zugute kommen und gleichzeitig ökologische Lebensräume erhalten bleiben. Die Trump-Regierung ignoriert den Willen des Volkes und geht jetzt einseitig auf Kosten der Umwelt zugunsten der Industrie vor. Wir können es nicht zulassen. Grüße https://www.petsexpert.ch

  7 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Digriz Digriz
• Divest West Midlands Pension Fund From Fossil Fuels

  Climate change is already causing massive destruction around the world. For the sake of all of our futures, we need to move away from fossil fuels and begin the transition to a clean and just energy economy, now. Many of the fossil fuel companies that West Midlands Pension Fund invests in have a poor environmental record, including ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, spilled 11 million gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska and plans to drill in the Russian Arctic with Rosneft. BP, another West Midlands Pension Fund investment, was responsible for the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico. Fossil fuel companies are also highly overvalued due to the assumption that all of their reserves will be burnt. But as policy catches up to climate realities, this overvaluation means there’s a multi-trillion dollar “carbon bubble” that’s poised to burst. This will greatly effect the value of our pensions if West Midlands continues to invest in fossil fuels. We know that 80% of current fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground to prevent runaway climate change. We must act now!

  548 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Kay Edwards
• 

  Divest Vallejo from Fossil Fuels

  We hold the future of our children and grandchildren in our hands. In the words of Seattle's Mayor McGinn, "We’re the first generation to see the effects of climate change, and the last generation who can do anything about it. To refuse to use every tool at our disposal in this fight – to embrace inaction – is to endorse a trajectory that will lead to suffering, privation, and calamity" The world leaders agreed in the Copenhagen Climate Summit that raising the global temperature more than 2 degrees Celsius would be devastating for civilization. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates we will surpass this target within 12 to 15 years. Today we are already witnessing the effects of accelerated climate change: increased global temperatures have caused more extreme weather, food and water shortages, resource conflicts, climate refugees, and negative health impacts which have been felt disproportionately by coastal and impoverished communities. This is not a partisan issue, it is an ethical issue. Ethical financing is a statement that we will not support the profits of fossil fuel companies while millions of poor people around the globe bear the brunt of climate change as they experience famine, mass emigration and civil unrest as a result. The burning of fossil fuels is the major contributor to the greenhouse gas build-up which causes global climate change. To prevent climate chaos, the fossil fuel industries have to keep 80% of their reserves underground. They will not do this willingly. However, as a community, we have the power to convince them by divesting from fossil fuels. Divestment from fossil fuel companies can: a) drive public awareness of the incalculable damage being done by the fossil fuel industry as it generates huge immediate profits in exchange for an uninhabitable future;  b) build public recognition of the urgent need to drastically and rapidly reduce humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels;  c) call widespread attention to the consequences of continuing a “business as usual” approach to extracting, marketing and burning fossil fuel;  d) lead to inspiring and urgent, accelerated and popular commitment to leave untapped 80% of the known carbon reserves,while developing renewable energy resources capable of meeting humanity’s needs – thus making it possible that life as we have known it might continue on earth. You can read the Carbon Tracker list at http://www.carbontracker.org/ You can review fossil fuel and fossil free investments at https://fossilfreefunds.org/ Please also support the petition to divest the city from Wells Fargo, who is funding the DAPL: https://www.change.org/p/bob-sampayan-cityofvallejo-net-divest-the-city-of-vallejo-from-wells-fargo?recruiter=602312054&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuCGVwJIRd0

  91 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Richard Fisher
• 

  Divest Lothian

  We all deserve a future worth retiring for, but fossil fuels threaten that future, both here in the Lothians and around the world. It's time for the Lothian Pension Fund to make a strong commitment to sustainability. Scientists are clear that the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - is the main driver of warming around the world, the effects of which can already be seen in hurricanes in the Caribbean, wildfires in the US and Europe and catastrophic flooding in Asia. More warming will cause increasing devastation. The Lothian Pensions Fund invests £153 million in fossil fuel companies like BP and Shell, whose business plans, and the valuations of their shares, are based on a world which continues to warm. Efforts to tackle climate change, such as banning fracking and phasing out fossil fuel-powered cars, make the future for fossil fuel companies more risky. The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that the "vast majority of [fossil fuel] reserves are unburnable" if climate change is to be limited to safe levels as pledged by the world's governments. By investing in the companies most responsible for climate change funds risk significant losses, fail to protect members' best interests, and miss an opportunity to take leadership on sustainability. By committing to divest, the Lothian Pension fund would join responsible investors including the Cities of New York and Paris. Over twenty Scottish MPs, including Ian Blackford, Christine Jardine and Ian Murray, have also supported disinvestment of their own pension fund.

  20 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Susan Hamilton
• 

  Divest Camden

  We believe divestment from fossil fuels to be not only ethically and environmentally correct, but also financially prudent. We are very aware of the importance of and legal obligation to secure the highest possible returns, and believe divestment to provide this in the post Paris Climate Agreement world. The committment to maintaining global temperature rise well below 2 degrees, in line with the agreement, would see much of the current assetts of fossil fuel companies becoming stranded. This has been supported by various financial institutions, including the Bank of England. Camden Council has a proud history of divesting from the apartheid regime in South Africa, and considering the significant size of its fossil fuel investments (£50 million), could honour this heritage through securing a divestment committment that would resonate on a national scale.

  403 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Susan Poupard
• 

  Divest Kassel - Kein Geld für Waffen, Kohle, Öl und Gas!

  Als Divest Kassel setzen wir auf die politische und moralische Wirkung eines öffentlichen Divestments. Sich zum Divestment zu bekennen, stellt eine klare Positionierung für den Klimaschutz und für ein friedliches Miteinander dar. Auf diese Weise Stellung zu beziehen, zielt auf den Ruf der Konzerne und soll ihren Lobbyeinfluss begrenzen. Die Stadt Kassel nimmt ihre Verantwortung für den Klimaschutz bisher nur lückenhaft wahr. Die Verantwortung hört zum Beispiel nicht bei Finanzfragen auf, sondern muss diese mit einschließen! Für einen konsequenten Klimaschutz, der der Verantwortung für die Allgemeinheit und für zukünftige Generationen gerecht wird, sollte daher auch das Anlagevermögen nach Kriterien des Klimaschutzes umgestaltet werden. Es reicht nicht, Urban Gardening und Fahrradverkehr mit kleinen Finanzspritzen zu fördern und gleichzeitig die Möglichkeit offen zu lassen, dass die Pensionsrücklagen mit den Profiten der fossilen Energiebranche oder der Rüstungsindustrie anwachsen. Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz müssen ganzheitlich über alle Sektoren gedacht werden, wobei die Finanzen einen wichtigen Hebel darstellen. "Genug Klimaschutz" gibt es angesichts der dramatischen Konsequenzen des Business-As-Usual im Rahmen des Klimawandels nicht! Im Pariser Klimavertrag hat sich auch die Bundesregierung dazu bekannt, das 2°-Limit deutlich zu unterschreiten und Anstrengungen zu unternehmen, den Temperaturanstieg auf 1,5° Celsius zu begrenzen. Das heißt im Klartext: keinerlei neuen Investitionen in jegliche Kohle-, Öl- oder Gasinfrastruktur und frühzeitiges Ende der bestehenden Förderungen. Denn allein die Ausbeutung der heute bereits produzierenden Lagerstätten werden uns schon über diese Limits katapultieren. Von dieser absehbaren Mensch-Umwelt-Katastrophe dürfen wir nicht profitieren, sondern müssen jede Anstrengung unternehmen, sie zu verhindern. Als Divest Kassel sehen wir es darüber hinaus angesichts der örtlichen Rüstungsindustrie und deren aktuellen skandalösen Verstrickungen in Konflikte wie im Norden Syriens oder Saudi-Arabien / Jemen als dringend notwendig an, die Deinvestition aus dieser Branche zu fordern, um so ein Statement für Abrüstung und mehr Frieden in der Welt zu setzen. Denn wenn der Klimawandel und Kriege zu verurteilen sind, dann ist es auch falsch, davon zu profitieren! Weitere Informationen und Hintergründe zum Nachlesen im Argumentationspapier von Divest Kassel: http://divestkassel.blogsport.eu/files/2018/03/argumentationspapier_divest-kassel_2018-02-26.pdf

  8 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Kerstin Lopau
• 

  Let's renew the Politecnico di Milano - stop fossil fuels!

  We want that our university, the most important eningeering university in Italy, to focus (during our education) most on renewable energy, not only on fossil fuels energy. Now the biggest part of the education program is based on "traditional" sources of energy, such as gas and coal. We need to teach to the future of our Country the importance of the renewable energy! As signed in Paris in 2015, we MUST change our vision of energy for the future. We ask to the Politecnico di Milano to increase the time and the quality of the renewabe energy teaching. We are the future, and we demand to teach the future in our university. Climate change is accelerating. 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. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate 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.

  75 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Michele Argenta
← Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 101 102 Next →