Presentation at 2016 MA Sustainable Campuses and Communities Conference

1. Susan Redlich Art
!
DivestOurPensionsNow.org!
April, 2016!
!

2. The Global Divestment Movement is
Growing Daily.
350.Org via Bill McKibben’s “Do the Math” Tour,
started the movement less than 4 years ago and
conHnues to urge colleges, faith and other
organizaHons to divest.

3. Hampshire College Divested

4. Divest UMass Amherst

5. Divest Amherst College

6. Divest Mount Holyoke

7. Divest Smith College

8. Faith Groups Have Divested

9. 14 MunicipaliHes in MA Have Made
Commitments to Divest From
Fossil Fuels, So Far

10. MassachuseRs May Be the First State
to Divest from all Fossil Fuels.
• Last year, California became the first state to
divest from coal.
• Last year, UMass FoundaHon became the first
state insHtuHon in MA to divest from coal.
• Vermont, New York and Minnesota are also
pushing strongly for divestment.

11. Individuals Are Finding Out How to
Divest Their Own Investments from
Fossil Fuel Companies
• Panels on individual divestment are coming up
shortly in PiRsfield, Lowell and Hingham.

12. Who Is SupporHng Divestment
in MA?

13. Environmental OrganizaHons
SupporHng Fossil Fuel Divestment:
DivestOurPensionsNow.org
Climate AcHon Now, Western Mass
The Sierra Club
The ConservaHon Law FoundaHon
The Environmental League of MA
Environment MassachuseRs
Toxics AcHon Network
Clean Water AcHon
Mass Climate AcHon Network
350.Org/350MA

14. MA Legislators and Treasurer
• 48 MA legislators support full fossil fuel
divestment
• MA Treasurer Deb Goldberg supports
divestment legislaHon

15. These Unions Support Divestment
• Mass. Nurses AssociaHon
• Boston Teachers Union
• SEIU, Local 509
• SEIU, Local 888
• Mass. Society of Professors, Umass Amherst
• Professional Staff Union, Umass Amherst

16. DefiniHons
• What does divestment mean?
Divestment is the opposite of investment.
It means to sell shares of something.
• What is a “fossil fuel company”?
For purposes of most fossil fuel divestment
resoluHons, it is a company listed as one of the top
200 oil, gas and coal companies on the Carbon
Underground list.

17. What Do Most ResoluHons Call For?
• No new investment in fossil fuel
companies
• Divestment of current holdings in
fossil fuel companies within 5 years
• Support for divestment efforts in the
wider community, such as for the
municipal resoluHons and the State
fossil fuel divestment legislaHon.

18. The Moral Argument: Investment in
Fossil Fuel Companies is morally wrong.
Historically, divestment efforts have arisen…
1. When responding to intenHonal, grave, large-scale harm.
2. When responding to intractable resistance.
3. As a means of sHgmaHzing and discrediHng the targeted
companies, removing their social license to operate.

19. Bill McKibben’s Moral Argument:
“If it’s wrong to wreck the climate, it’s wrong to
profit from that wreckage”
- Bill McKibben

20. Why Not Invest? We Refuse to Invest
in Companies that…
• ConHnue to dump CO2 into the air without consequence
• ConHnue to explore for new fossil fuel reserves despite
knowledge that their exisHng reserves are unburnable
• Lobby against clean energy and climate soluHons
• Cover up climate change dangers and fund climate
change denial efforts
• Do not pay for clean up and damage caused by climate
change impacts
• Harm our health and that of future generaHons
• Destroy the environment through extracHon pracHces
• Obtain government subsidies and tax credits from our
tax dollars

21. ExxonMobil and its Peers Knew of
Climate Dangers 30 Years Ago and
Concealed Them From the Public
MA ARorney General Maura Healey has joined
the invesHgaHon, with other states ARorney
Generals.

22. Fracking Has Been Found to Cause
Earthquakes!
• This spring, the US Geological Survey created
a new category of earthquakes – those that
are manmade - and reported that reported
“manmade earthquakes” affected 7 million
Americans.

23. The Financial Argument:
Investment in Fossil Fuel
Companies is Financially Risky

24.
“Fiduciary Responsibility” is No
Longer an Argument Against
Divestment.
Failure of Endowments and
Pension Funds to Divest from
Fossil Fuels Now Risks
Financial Loss

25. In Fact, Endowments and Pension
Funds are Losing Money Now by
Staying Invested in Fossil Fuels
• An analysis done by Trillium Asset
Management last year found that the MA
Pension Fund had lost a half billion dollars
by invesHng in fossil fuels in FY 2014.
• Other funds have found similar loss.
• Fossil free indexes outperformed the S&P
500 in 2015.

26. MulHple Factors Have Converged to
Devalue Fossil Fuel Companies
• Countries made pledges to reduce emissions at
the UN conference in Paris and some are starHng
to be fulfilled (the carbon bubble effect)
• AcHvists, including divestment campaigns, are
standing by to make sure countries follow
through on their pledges
• Coal is completely tanking
• Renewables are on the rise
• Financial markets are casHng doubt on the value
of fossil fuels, via major media outlets

27. Divestment Campaigns are EffecHve
• In it’s 2014 SEC filing, Peabody Coal stated that the
fossil fuel divestment movement “could significantly
affect demand for our products…”. In April, 2016, it
became the 50th and largest coal co. to declare
bankruptcy since 2012 (when the divestment
movement began).
• Saudi Arabia has advised US oil companies to thwart
the “misguided” divestment movement.
• Morgan Stanley published a new report Climate
Change and Fossil Fuel Aware InvesHng, crediHng
350.org and the divestment movement with puong
investment in fossil fuel cos. on the public agenda.

28. Resources:
For more informaHon, to sign our peHHon and
subscribe to the MassDivest Update, go to:
DivestOurPensionsNow.org
See also:
350mass.org
Gofossilfree.org
ClimateAcHonNow.org
#divestma #divesRherest #keepiHntheground

29. Let’s Do It!