fossil fuel divestment News

150 Years of Spills: Philadelphia Refinery Cleanup Reveals Toxic Legacy of Fossil Fuels

Wearing blue hard hats, white hazmat suits and respirator masks, workers carted away bags of debris on a recent morning from a sprawling and now-defunct oil refinery once operated by Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES). Other laborers ripped asbestos from the …

Climate Models Are Not Designed for Use by Financial Markets, Scientists Warn

Misuse of climate models could pose a growing risk to financial markets by giving investors a false sense of certainty over how the physical impacts of climate change will play out, according to the authors of a paper published on …

Aviva Investors Weighs Ditching Holdings in Biggest Carbon Emitters for Climate Inaction

LONDON – Aviva Investors said on Monday it could ditch its stock and bond holdings in 30 of the world’s biggest corporate emitters of carbon if their boards failed to take sufficient action over climate change. The move comes as …

Top Investor Group Including Allianz Warns Firms to Cut Ties to Coal

Some of the world’s largest insurers and pension schemes are warning companies they invest in not to finance, insure, build, develop or plan new thermal coal plants or face sanctions, including possible divestment. The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, whose members …

$5 Trillion Investor Group Aims to Align Portfolios with Paris Climate Agreement

Thirty of the world’s largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years. All members of the Net-Zero …

Businesses Urge U.S. Insurers to Stop Insuring, Investing in Fossil Fuel Producers

A group of about 60 American businesses on Thursday urged their insurers to stop providing coverage to and investing in fossil fuel producers. In a letter, companies including outdoor-gear producer Patagonia and ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s, a unit of …

How One County Plans to Vet Insurers for Fossil Fuel Investments

“We have front row seats,” said Elise Jones, a Boulder County commissioner. Jones along with two other commissioners oversees government affairs in the Colorado county of 330,000 or so at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Her …

Why the Worst Case for Climate Change Doesn’t Look Realistic: Viewpoint

In recent years, much of the commentary about climate change has gone from sternly serious to wildly despairing. A new report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that the effects of climate change are accelerating and …

Liberty Mutual to Limit Coal Underwriting, Investments; Names First Sustainability Officer

Liberty Mutual Insurance said it will drastically limit future underwriting for and investment in coal risks, an apparent response to environmentalists pushing for greener investment strategies among corporations. To support this change, the insurer has also appointed its first-ever chief …

San Francisco May Screen Insurers for Their Fossil Fuels Investments

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has become what is believed to be the first U.S. municipal body to try to force insurance companies to stop insuring and investing in fossil fuels. The board on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor …