Divestment Commitments Surpass $3.4 Trillion & 500 Institutions

December 3rd, 2015 by Joshua S Hill

More than 500 institutions have divested from fossil fuel investments totaling commitments of over $3.4 trillion, according to international climate campaign 350.org.

In September 350.org announced that fossil fuel divestment pledges had surpassed $2.6 trillion, representing 430 institutions and 2,040 individuals spread out over 43 countries. The divestment campaign has been in full swing for nearly two years now, and finding fertile ground on universities and colleges where student-groups have made tremendous progress in pressuring their respective institutions into reevaluating and divesting from their fossil fuel investments.

In attendance at the COP21 UN climate summit in Paris, 350.org announced that those figures had well and truly been exceeded.

Divestment commitments from more than 500 institutions representing over $3.4 trillion in assets have been recorded by the group, including announcements made on Wednesday that 30 French cities had all passed a motion to divest from fossil fuel investments, in addition to the French National Assembly, which passed a similar resolution.

350.org highlighted several commitments made in the last few weeks ahead of COP21 — including German insurance giant Allianz, and major cities like Oslo, Munster, and Melbourne.

“The logic of the divestment movement is quite simple: if it’s wrong to cause climate change, it’s wrong to profit from climate change,” said 350.org Executive Director May Boeve. “The diversity of actors involved, such as faith groups, cities, universities show that the movement is wide and has injected itself into the life of different institutions which do not want to be associated with this industry.”

“The divestment movement has permanently changed the energy finance landscape,” added 350.org founder Bill McKibben. “No responsible institution wants to be financially or morally implicated in yesterday’s fuels.”









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