“Divest For Paris” Challenges Leaders To Show Climate Leadership
Environmental leaders launched “Divest for Paris” at the Paris Divestment Conference on Tuesday in an attempt to challenge global institutions, individuals, and governments to show climate leadership.
The Paris Divestment Conference, held on September 1, was co-hosted by 350.org and the European Green Party in an attempt “to further mobilise for fossil fuel divestment, discuss the risks of a so-called carbon bubble, and highlight opportunities for a sustainable financial system.” The summit featured speakers such as Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, Stephen Heintz, President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Nicolas Hulot, Special Envoy of the French President for the Protection of the Planet, Pascal Canfin, from the Commission on Climate Finance and former French Development Minister, representatives from the World Council of Churches, the Carbon Tracker Initiative, and many more.
Divest for Paris is set to carry on the ideals of the day-long summit, “challenging institutions, individuals, and governments to show climate leadership and align their investments with their values by divesting from fossil fuels ahead of the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris.”
“If you say you want action in Paris, then you have a responsibility to divest from fossil fuels,” said 350.org Executive Director May Boeve. “By shifting resources from the dirty energy of the past to the 100% renewable energy of the future, institutions can model the type of action we need from countries at COP21. With our climate in crisis, divestment is a moral necessity.”
We’ve covered a veritable truck-load of divestment announcements over the past years, from entire countries, cities, pension funds, and a multitude of educational institutions the world over. (350.org has a fantastic running list of divestment commitments.)
Specifically, a number of institutions throughout Europe are stepping up to increase the call for fossil fuel divestment.
“The European Parliament has formed a cross-party group working on the carbon bubble and divestment while the European Central Bank is looking into the risks of a carbon bubble,” said Reinhard Bütikofer, Member of Parliament and Co-Chair of the European Green Party. “Unfortunately, however, the European Commission seems to be dragging its feet. This divestment conference is therefore also a call to them: don’t be behind the curve. There is no future for fossil fuels – or there is no future.”
Image Credit: via 350.org
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