CALSTRS Fossil- Free DIVESTMENT Dra RESOLUTION
Presented by Cynthia Kaufman, De Anza College Sco Lankford, Foothill College
Protec ng the Planet = Protec ng our Pensions ê Dra FA Resolu on urging that CalSTRS Divest from the Top 200 Fossil Fuel Corpora ons (within 5 years)
Presenta on Preview
• Scien fic Context – The Carbon Bubble
• Poli cal Context – The Fossil Free Movement
• Fiscal Context – Stranded Assets, Collapsing Prices, Legal Liability Exposure
The Carbon Bubble
London Guardian Newspaper Video Anima on April 2013
• h p://www.theguardian.com/environment/interac ve/2013/apr/19/ countries-exposed-carbon-bubble-map - 2:26 minutes
Bill Gates’ Carbon Equa on 2016
• h ps://www.gatesnotes.com/2016-Annual-Le er - 1:50 minutes
Carbon Bubble > Housing Bubble • “The Carbon Bubble makes the Housing Bubble look small…” --Bill McKibben
• “Fastest-Growing Divestment Movement in History” –Oxford Study
h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_vud-VXEoY
3:00 minutes Sept 2013 – start at 1:00 minutes mark - 3:47
The purpose of Divestment is to take away the ability of fossil fuel companies to influence social policy by taking away their social license.
"In every case we reviewed, divestment campaigns were successful in lobbying for restric ve legisla on.“
"S gma za on poses a far-reaching threat to fossil fuel companies – any direct impacts of divestment pale in comparison,"
-Ben Caldeco , a research fellow at the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/08/campaign-against-fossil-fuel- growing
Carbon Underground 200
• h p://fossilfreeindexes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CU200_Final_29-Oct-2015.pdf
• The 100 Largest Coal Companies + • The 100 Largest Oil/Gas Corpora ons • = the Dirty 200
$3.4 Trillion in Global Fossil Free Divestment Commitments • 505 Ins tu ons Worldwide • $3.4 Trillion Divested h p://gofossilfree.org/commitments/
Academic Ins tu ons Dives ng Globally • h p://insideclimatenews.org/news/20032015/map-tracking-academias-fossil-fuel-divestment • In 2013 FHDA became the first CC District in the na on to fully divest from Fossil Fuels – in response to an impac ul student presenta on.
Divestment PUTs FHDA On the Map!
CalSTRS and CALPERS Re ree Divestment Campaigns • h p://www.fossilfreeca.org
Blackrock Issues Warning:
• “The chief execu ve of the world’s largest investor, Blackrock, is calling me on companies that ignore long term risks like climate change.” h p://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/02/05/blackrock-worlds-largest-investor-flags-up-climate-risk/
Rockefeller Oil-Heirs Divest
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund Divests • Rockefeller Heir Goodwin Divests …wrote an op-ed in the LA Times sta ng she had “lost faith in Exxon/Mobile’s future value.”
Construc ve Engagement: Failed Strategy “How we approach the management of climate change risk is where we diverge from those who advocate for divestment. CalSTRS believes that construc ve engagement is the be er path to influencing a company’s behavior...” -- Christopher J. Ailman, CALSTRS Chief Investment Officer
CALSTRS 2015 green ini a ve task force report
CA and NY A orney Generals Inves ga ng Exxon • Think Progress: California Inves gates Exxon • New York Times: Inves ga on of Exxon in New York State
Carbon Investment Violates CalSTRS’ Own 21-Risk-Factors Policy? “The investment’s long-term profitability from ac vi es and exposure to environmental ma ers such as: deple ng or reducing air quality, water quality, land protec on and usage, without regard for remedia on. Considera on should be given to how a company is dealing with the impact of climate change, including whether the government is taking steps to reduce its impact, exacerba ng the problem, or oblivious to the risk.”
CALSTRS 21 Risk Factor Policy
Clinging to Carbon Costs STRS Billions* * h p://ecowatch.com/2015/08/14/pension-funds-fossil-fuel-holdings/ “Had CalPERS and CalSTRS listened to the scien sts and the college kids ... and go en out of coal before it collapsed, they would have avoided those shocking losses.” –LA Times Op/Ed h p://www.la mes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0818-mckibben-calpers-fossil-fuel- investment-20150818-story.html
Paris COP21 – 189 Countries
FA Resolu on: Divest within 5 years