Paris, France — The French public financial institution Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC), which manages public sector pensions, savings and investments, announced yesterday that from 2019 it will to no longer invest in companies that make more than 10% of their business from coal. The CDC, which manages assets of more than €150bn, says that it is doing this to help achieve the targets of the Paris Climate Accord.

“The investment arm of the French state turning its back on coal is a significant first step and another nail in the coffin of the coal industry. We welcome that the CDC recognises that it has to break its ties to companies that are pushing our climate to the brink of breakdown. That cannot exempt the oil and gas industry however, and people across France are mobilising to get our public money out of all fossil fuels,” says Clémence Dubois, 350.org France campaigner.

350.org and Attac France are campaigning for the CDC to ban investments in fossil fuel companies, which have the biggest responsibility for causing climate change.

The CDC’s announcement follows similar moves by Norway’s $1tn sovereign wealth fund and the Irish €8bn national investment fund, which is now required to sell all its investments in coal, oil and gas within the next five years.

Since the start of the Fossil Free campaign in 2012, hundreds of local groups have put pressure on public institutions to pull their funds out of fossil fuels and to refuse donations and sponsorship from companies fueling the climate crisis. To date, close to 1,000 institutions, including major cities such as New York, universities, pension funds, faith and medical groups have broken their financial ties to fossil fuel companies since. Campaigners aim to thereby erode the fossil fuel industry’s financial support and political power, which holds back action on climate change.

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Contact: Clémence Dubois , 350.org France campaigner, clemence@350.org, +33642713175

Melanie Mattauch, 350.org Europe communications coordinator, melanie@350.org, +4915158120184