Resolution in Support of Divestment from Fossil Fuel Companies
WHEREAS, almost every government in the world has agreed that any warming above a 2°C (3.6°F) rise would be unsafe. We have already raised the temperature 0.8°C, and that has caused far more damage than most scientists expected. A third of summer sea ice in the Arctic is gone, the oceans are 26 percent more acidic, and since warm air holds more water vapor than cold, the likelihood is high for both devastating floods and drought; and
WHEREAS, scientists estimate that humans can pour roughly 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and still have some reasonable hope of staying below two degrees. Computer models calculate that even if we stopped increasing CO2 levels now, the temperature would still rise another 0.8 degrees above the 0.8 we’ve already warmed, which means that we’re already 3/4s of the way to the 2 degree target; and
WHEREAS, proven coal, oil, and gas reserves of the fossil-fuel companies, and the countries that act like fossil-fuel companies, equals about 2,795 gigatons of CO2, or five times the amount we can release to maintain 2 degrees of warming; and
WHEREAS, California teachers as members of CalSTRS and state employees as members of CalPERS contribute a collective wealth in the tens of billions of dollars, that collective wealth cannot be used to undermine the future of the very students and citizens they devote their professional lives to.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, CalSTRS and CalPERS
1. Immediately stops and instructs asset managers to stop any new investment in fossil fuel companies; and
2. Ensures none of its directly held or commingled assets include holdings in fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
3. Releases quarterly updates, available to the public, detailing progress made towards full divestment.
WHEREAS, almost every government in the world has agreed that any warming above a 2°C (3.6°F) rise would be unsafe. We have already raised the temperature 0.8°C, and that has caused far more damage than most scientists expected. A third of summer sea ice in the Arctic is gone, the oceans are 26 percent more acidic, and since warm air holds more water vapor than cold, the likelihood is high for both devastating floods and drought; and
WHEREAS, scientists estimate that humans can pour roughly 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and still have some reasonable hope of staying below two degrees. Computer models calculate that even if we stopped increasing CO2 levels now, the temperature would still rise another 0.8 degrees above the 0.8 we’ve already warmed, which means that we’re already 3/4s of the way to the 2 degree target; and
WHEREAS, proven coal, oil, and gas reserves of the fossil-fuel companies, and the countries that act like fossil-fuel companies, equals about 2,795 gigatons of CO2, or five times the amount we can release to maintain 2 degrees of warming; and
WHEREAS, California teachers as members of CalSTRS and state employees as members of CalPERS contribute a collective wealth in the tens of billions of dollars, that collective wealth cannot be used to undermine the future of the very students and citizens they devote their professional lives to.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, CalSTRS and CalPERS
1. Immediately stops and instructs asset managers to stop any new investment in fossil fuel companies; and
2. Ensures none of its directly held or commingled assets include holdings in fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
3. Releases quarterly updates, available to the public, detailing progress made towards full divestment.
