How to Divest from Fossil Fuels
On the road to a sustainable civilization there are certain truths that must be accepted. One of these truths is that development requires investment, and investors are typically more interested in a company’s ability to generate revenue than their commitment to sustainability. However, a movement to encourage people and companies to divest from fossil fuels—and potentially other unsustainable businesses—is gaining momentum.
After setting up a profile with Oroeco (the San Francisco-based company that tracks your spending habits to estimate the climate impacts of your investments) I received an email inviting me to join countless others from around the world who have pledged to stop investing in oil, gas, and coal companies.
You may be thinking, ‘I don’t invest in those kinds of companies,’ but chances are you do. Take a look at the 200 companies at the top of the charts worldwide and continuing to contribute to climate change by manufacturing fossil fuels. Whether you’re invested in a mutual fund or participate in an employer’s 401k, chances are you have stock in the fossil fuel industry.
Today you are also invited to submit an individual pledge to make no new investments in the fossil fuel industry and sell any existing assets in the next 3-5 years.
If you’re already sold, you’ll be joining thousands of individuals and hundreds of institutions worldwide, including Leonardo DiCaprio, who pledged to divest his own investments earlier this year. DiCaprio is an outspoken supporter of environmental protection and believes that, ”[n]ow is the time to divest and invest to let our world leaders know that we, as individuals and institutions, are taking action to address climate change, and we expect them to do their part this December in Paris at the U.N. climate talks.”
If you’re still on the fence, the DivestInvest gives six more reasons that are paraphrased here:
(1) Maintain competitive returns by investing in clean technologies that are seeing rapid growth
(2) Avoid unnecessary risk in the increasingly volatile fossil fuel industry.
(3) Invest in fuels that will help make the change that you’d like to see in the world—we’d like to think both social and economic change.
(4) Give clean energy a chance to provide clean energy to the entire world.
(5) Lead by example and start putting your money where it can make a difference.
(6) Be proactive—in other words, don’t be left behind!
By making a pledge you will be contributing to the $2.6 trillion in assets that have already been committed to divestment. While it's not a giant check made out to "renewable energy," it is the kind of investment that proves sustainable development has a major role to play in the future of our global economy.