Divestment

DIVESTMENT‘Divest, decarbonize, and don’t discount our future.’

- Chanted by youth activists at the 2013 and 2014 climate talks

WHAT I DO…

WHAT IS DIVESTMENT? #1

‘Divestment is the opposite of an investment – it simply means getting rid of stocks, bonds, or

investment funds that are unethical or morally ambiguous.’

- Fossil Free, 350.org

WHAT IS DIVESTMENT? #2

• Practically, the divestment movement is a civil society movement encouraging people, companies and others to stop investing (directly or indirectly) in fossil fuels

• Divestment can be full or partial. That is, divesting from either:

• all fossil fuel investments, period• the 200 main fossil fuel companies (The ‘Carbon

Underground’)• the ‘worst’ forms of fossil fuel extraction (like tar sands,

coal, or Arctic drilling)

WHY DIVEST? #1

GOOD ETHICS?

‘If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. We believe that

educational and religious institutions, governments, and other organizations that serve the public good

should divest from fossil fuels.’

- Fossil Free, 350.org

WHY DIVEST? #2

GOOD BUSINESS.

“No more than one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to 2050 if the world is to

achieve the 2 °C goal, unless carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is widely deployed.”

- International Energy Agency

WHY DIVEST? #3

GOOD BUSINESS

• We face a ‘carbon bubble’• To maintain 2ºC of temperature rise, between 2/3

and 4/5 of known and owned fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned (see Carbon Tracker reports)

• HSBC has warned investors to manage ‘growing’ risks to fossil fuel investments

• G20 last week commissioned report into risks posed by the carbon bubble

WHY DIVEST? #4

GOOD BUSINESS.

‘The issue of the bubble arises because the combined proven oil, gas and coal reserves currently on the books of fossil fuel

companies (and governments in the case of NOCs) will produce far more than this amount of CO2 when consumed.’

‘We agree that burning all known reserves would probably cause global temperatures to rise by more than 2°C – and that

addressing this issue will require the efforts of governments, industry and individuals.’

WHY DIVEST? #5

GOOD BUSINESS.

‘The issue of the bubble arises because the combined proven oil, gas and coal reserves currently on the books of fossil fuel

companies (and governments in the case of NOCs) will produce far more than this amount of CO2 when consumed.’

- Shell

‘We agree that burning all known reserves would probably cause global temperatures to rise by more than 2°C – and that

addressing this issue will require the efforts of governments, industry and individuals.’

- BP

IT MIGHT JUST CHANGE EVERYTHING

WHY NOT? #1

• Two main counter arguments: • It will cost too much• If we don’t invest, somebody else will

• Noam Chomsky on 28 April 2015 described these arguments as:

‘They’re accurate, but the problem is they’re irrelevant’

WHY NOT? #2

‘[Rejection of divestment] is Harvard’s loss — literally. Harvard has lost an estimated $21 million dollars over the past 3 years by ignoring calls to divest. Harvard's

decision to blindly continue their support of the industry that is principally responsible for causing

climate change is neither warranted nor wise.’

- Trillium Asset Management

WHAT’S HAPPENING OVERSEAS?

• Over $50bn in assets divested from top 180 fossil fuel companies

• Big university campaigns, especially in the US – eg Divest Harvard

• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has divested from 32 coal and other mining companies

• Rockefeller Foundation and World Council of Churches divested in 2014

• 17 Anglican ‘Eco-Bishops’ have called on whole Anglican church to divest

• Church of England has divested from ‘worst’ fossil fuels

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NEW ZEALAND?

• Universities• Divestment campaign launched at University of Auckland

• Churches• All five New Zealand Anglican dioceses voted to divest in

2013 – due to complete by 2016 • Presbyterian church followed in 2014

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NEW ZEALAND?

• Councils• On 29 April 2015, Dunedin’s council voted to divest the

Waipori Fund from fossil fuels

• Banks• 350.org Aotearoa calling for fossil fuel free banking• Two fossil fuel free Kiwisaver options

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