Cities, Investors and a Prince Support Fossil Fuel Divestment

What do Prince Charles, Investors and the City of Oslo all have in common? They are all recent advocates of divestment from fossil fuels. What started as a grass roots movement has blossomed into a global effort to call for a future with integrity and common sense. Fueled by the divestment movement, the transition to a more sustainable economy is underway.

Fossil fuel divestment is the fastest growing movement in the world with a 50 fold increase in 2014. If we are to reign in emissions we must radically reduce our use of fossil fuels. This is particularly important as we head down the final stretch towards COP21.

Fossil Free Investment Resources

There are now a number of firms who are helping investors to move away from fossil fuels. While investing in fossil fuels and associated industries was once the bedrock of a sound investment strategy, there is a growing awareness that these investments are approaching the end of their life cycle.

Investors cannot ignore the overwhelming body of climate science that links the burning of fossil fuels to the economic catastrophe of climate change. Investors are also concerned about a large and growing number of governments, businesses, institutions and people who are demanding that we transition away from fossil fuels.

Governments around the world are also supporting emissions reductions efforts, carbon pricing schemes and support for renewable energy. The burning of fossil fuels is also a health issue which is clearly linked to asthma, coronary heart disease and respiratory disorders. That is why some healthcare professionals are at the forefront of divestment.

Video - Why You Should Divest from Fossil Fuels

There is a powerful rational driving the movement to divest from fossil fuels. For more information about the economic reasons why fossil fuels are a bad investment and clean energy makes good investing sense click here.

Climate Change is a Health Problem and Divestment is the Cure

Climate change is commonly framed as an environmental issue, while this is undeniably true, it is also very much a human health issue. Hundreds of thousands of people are already dying each year from climate change and left unchecked this will get far worse.

From air pollution, to diminishing clean water supplies to food insecurity and extreme weather, climate change has a host of impacts that make it a grave threat to human health.

The Hippocratic Oath, the cornerstone of medical ethics states: "I will take care that they suffer no hurt or damage.." Bearing this in mind medical workers cannot in good conscience ignore climate change.

That is why a number of health care professionals are coming together in support of action on climate change. In particular some are showing their support for divestment from fossil fuels as an important first step towards improving human health.

Infographic - Why You Should Sell Your Fossil Fuel Stock Now (DC Divest)

Rockefeller Brothers Fund to Divest from Fossil Fuels

On the eve of the Climate Summit, the $860m Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced plans to begin divesting from fossil fuels. Starting with coal and tar sands investments, the fund plans to reduce such investments to almost zero by the end of this year. This will be followed up by further fossil fuel divestment over the next few years. The fund is a signatory to the The Global Divest-Invest coalition is calling for divestment from fossil fuels.

The Global Divest-Invest Coalition and Campaign

Divest-Invest is a coalition that is on the front lines of climate action. With the tag line of, "divest from fossil fuels invest in climate solutions," they are passionate advocates of responsible investing. Their work is focused on accelerating the transition to a sustainable and equitable economy by encouraging foundations to divest from fossil fuels and invest in clean energy.

They make the point that investments should not contribute to climate change. In addition to the ethical argument they suggest that investments in fossil fuels are not financially sensible. They indicate that fossil fuel stocks are over-valued as most of their reserves cannot be burned. They also say that with clean energy investments we can get good, safe returns while helping to build a new energy system.

They explain that, "Divestment empowers you to take meaningful principled action aligned with other people and institutions to stigmatize the fossil fuel companies that most threaten climate and community stability." With that in mind they encourage people to use their power and reduce their risk.

Fossil Fuel Divestment Universities Will Not be Able to Resist

A number of schools have already divested from fossil fuels and many movements are underway to encourage remaining schools to divest. Universities running the gamut from tiny Unity College in Maine to major ivy league universities like Stanford have already succeeded in making strides to divest from fossil fuels.

Pitzer College

California based Pitzer College launched the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability in 2012 and opened four mixed-use residential buildings that earned LEED Platinum certification. In 2014 they set some ambitious sustainability goals that include divestment from fossil fuels.

Harvard's New Responsible Investing Guidelines do not Include Divestment from Fossil Fuels

The exclusion of divestment from fossil fuels is an important contradictory caveat in Harvard University's newly adopted code of investment principles. Harvard's investment policies are far more than symbolic as the university oversees the world’s largest college endowment valued at $33 billion.

Shortly after hiring Jameela Pedicini as Harvard’s first vice president for sustainable investment in 2013, the university announced that it would not divest from fossil fuels despite a groundswell of protest both on and off campus.

Harvard is ignoring a trend that is sweeping across institutes of higher learning in much of the western world. A total of 500 university campuses and other institutions across America and Europe have divested from fossil fuels. While the new Harvard investment code will address a wide range of environmental and social issues, it does not oblige the school to sell off its existing fossil fuel investments.