SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has signaled he will call for and support the divestment of coal and possible other fossil fuels from the city's pension fund. (Photo: Reuters)
'Critical First Step': Bill de Blasio Pushes NYC Coal Divestment
Mayor to ask five pension funds to consider pulling at least $33 million from thermal coal industry
Sep 29, 2015
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is poised to urge the city's five pension funds to divest from coal, which could move at least $33 million away from the fossil fuel industry, officials said Tuesday.
The measure is being supported by NYC comptroller Scott Stringer, who is custodian to the pension funds' boards and has endorsed climate-friendly city policies in the past. De Blasio's push comes just ahead of the United Nations climate talks in Paris in December, and just after an analysis by a philanthropic consultant group found that institutions worth $2.6 trillion in assets have pulled funds from fossil fuels.
May Boeve, executive director of the environmental advocacy group 350.org, said de Blasio's announcement "is another big step adding even more momentum to this campaign."
"We expect to see other municipal leaders around the world take note of the Mayor's words today, and join New York in acknowledging the financial and moral imperative to divest from climate chaos," Boeve said.
De Blasio is also expected to ask the pension funds to consider divesting from other fossil fuels.
"In the final months before crucial climate talks in Paris, wins like these send a clear message to world leaders that people across our society are clamoring for real, ambitious leadership on climate change," Boeve said.
350 NYC Steering Committee member Mark Dunlea added, "We appreciate Mayor de Blasio calling for a critical first step to divest the city's pension funds from fossil fuels, starting with coal and a study on the rest. We hope that our other elected officials will stand with him to help protect our city and our future from the risks of climate change. We look forward to a fossil free future."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is poised to urge the city's five pension funds to divest from coal, which could move at least $33 million away from the fossil fuel industry, officials said Tuesday.
The measure is being supported by NYC comptroller Scott Stringer, who is custodian to the pension funds' boards and has endorsed climate-friendly city policies in the past. De Blasio's push comes just ahead of the United Nations climate talks in Paris in December, and just after an analysis by a philanthropic consultant group found that institutions worth $2.6 trillion in assets have pulled funds from fossil fuels.
May Boeve, executive director of the environmental advocacy group 350.org, said de Blasio's announcement "is another big step adding even more momentum to this campaign."
"We expect to see other municipal leaders around the world take note of the Mayor's words today, and join New York in acknowledging the financial and moral imperative to divest from climate chaos," Boeve said.
De Blasio is also expected to ask the pension funds to consider divesting from other fossil fuels.
"In the final months before crucial climate talks in Paris, wins like these send a clear message to world leaders that people across our society are clamoring for real, ambitious leadership on climate change," Boeve said.
350 NYC Steering Committee member Mark Dunlea added, "We appreciate Mayor de Blasio calling for a critical first step to divest the city's pension funds from fossil fuels, starting with coal and a study on the rest. We hope that our other elected officials will stand with him to help protect our city and our future from the risks of climate change. We look forward to a fossil free future."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is poised to urge the city's five pension funds to divest from coal, which could move at least $33 million away from the fossil fuel industry, officials said Tuesday.
The measure is being supported by NYC comptroller Scott Stringer, who is custodian to the pension funds' boards and has endorsed climate-friendly city policies in the past. De Blasio's push comes just ahead of the United Nations climate talks in Paris in December, and just after an analysis by a philanthropic consultant group found that institutions worth $2.6 trillion in assets have pulled funds from fossil fuels.
May Boeve, executive director of the environmental advocacy group 350.org, said de Blasio's announcement "is another big step adding even more momentum to this campaign."
"We expect to see other municipal leaders around the world take note of the Mayor's words today, and join New York in acknowledging the financial and moral imperative to divest from climate chaos," Boeve said.
De Blasio is also expected to ask the pension funds to consider divesting from other fossil fuels.
"In the final months before crucial climate talks in Paris, wins like these send a clear message to world leaders that people across our society are clamoring for real, ambitious leadership on climate change," Boeve said.
350 NYC Steering Committee member Mark Dunlea added, "We appreciate Mayor de Blasio calling for a critical first step to divest the city's pension funds from fossil fuels, starting with coal and a study on the rest. We hope that our other elected officials will stand with him to help protect our city and our future from the risks of climate change. We look forward to a fossil free future."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.