Young people participate in a demonstration for S.B. 1173, proposed state legislation in California that would force two of the state's biggest pensions to divest from the fossil fuel industry. (Photo: Fossil Free California/Instagram)
Jun 21, 2022
Climate, environmental, and social justice advocates on Tuesday condemned the decision by a Democratic California lawmaker to kill proposed legislation that would require two of the state's leading pension funds to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies."
"Today amidst a historic mega-drought, wildfires, and fossil-fueled public health crises, Assemblymember Jim Cooper, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, refused to allow Senate Bill 1173, California's Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, to be heard in his committee," Fossil Free California said in a statement. "This one-man veto allows the state's pensions to continue to invest billions from public funds into the fossil fuel industry, for now."
S.B. 1173 would have prohibited the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)--the two largest public pension funds in the United States--from making or renewing investments in fossil fuel companies. The measure would also have required the pensions to liquidate their fossil fuel holdings by 2030. The two funds currently hold an estimated $9 billion in fossil fuel investments.
"This decision is a moral failure that disproportionately impacts young people, Indigenous communities, communities of color, and low-income communities," the coalition asserted. "Climate chaos has already cost California billions in damages and health costs from fossil fuel pollution and climate disasters. Jim Cooper, who has just been elected Sacramento County Sheriff, has reported $36,350 in Big Oil campaign contributions from this election season alone."
\u201c@CalPERS @CalSTRS To be clear: #SB1173 is dead because @AsmJimCooper, who's received $218,186 from Big Oil, refused to allow the bill to be voted on in his committee.\n\nThe fossil fuel industry has a chokehold on our political system & our representatives\u2014which is exactly why we need to divest.\u201d— Fossil Free California (@Fossil Free California) 1655844140
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-33) said in a statement that "while I am deeply disappointed that my Senate Bill 1173 was not set for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement this week, I remain committed to the necessary and ongoing fight against the impacts of climate change on our state, and especially those communities in my district that are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of the climate crisis."
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies, and this demand will only grow stronger and louder," she continued.
James Stone of the Southern California Divestment Network said that "today is a sad day in the history of California when the fossil fuel industry and its political allies defeated the will of the majority of CalSTRS and CalPERS beneficiaries and silenced the voices of the majority of the citizens of our great state."
"This defeat is just a temporary setback, however. We will organize to come back stronger to make our demand for fossil fuel divestment heard because fossil fuel companies are driving us toward unimaginable disaster and neither CalSTRS and CalPERS management nor our elected representatives are doing enough to hold them accountable," he added. "We must prevail because our common future is at stake."
\u201cJoin our friends @Y_Vs_A to demand that the California State Assembly #DivestFromFossilFuels!\n\nAt 9:00am on June 22nd, we\u2019ll be gathering in support of SB1173, despite @AsmJimCooper to let them know that @CalSTRS & @CalPERS must divest! \n\nTo sign up, go to https://t.co/rcS90WlmTd\u201d— Amy Gray (@Amy Gray) 1655845516
Marlay'ja Hackett, a 15-year-old activist with Youth vs. Apocalypse, asserted that "the fossil fuel industry doesn't benefit low-income communities or people of color. We are never considered when they make decisions about their business."
"It's infuriating that our elected officials take huge donations from this industry," she added, "and then turn around and deny young people, frontline communities, and our entire movement the chance to even make our case and have a fair vote."
Lizbeth Ibarra, also of Youth vs. Apocalypse, added that "Jim Cooper just decided to continue investing public money in the unequal suffering of my community."
"CalPERS and CalSTRS have been invested in these companies for decades, and during that time, their 'engagement' has come nowhere close to stopping the harm to my community or our world," she continued. "Instead, fossil fuel companies have put billions into lies and disinformation to stop life-saving action on climate and pollution, and billions into exploiting more and more dangerous forms of fossil fuel extraction."
"They've been responsible for causing sickness and death to the two million Californians who live within a mile of fossil fuel infrastructure, a disproportionate amount of whom are Black and Brown communities like mine," Ibarra added. "Jim Cooper decided this injustice didn't even deserve a vote."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Climate, environmental, and social justice advocates on Tuesday condemned the decision by a Democratic California lawmaker to kill proposed legislation that would require two of the state's leading pension funds to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies."
"Today amidst a historic mega-drought, wildfires, and fossil-fueled public health crises, Assemblymember Jim Cooper, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, refused to allow Senate Bill 1173, California's Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, to be heard in his committee," Fossil Free California said in a statement. "This one-man veto allows the state's pensions to continue to invest billions from public funds into the fossil fuel industry, for now."
S.B. 1173 would have prohibited the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)--the two largest public pension funds in the United States--from making or renewing investments in fossil fuel companies. The measure would also have required the pensions to liquidate their fossil fuel holdings by 2030. The two funds currently hold an estimated $9 billion in fossil fuel investments.
"This decision is a moral failure that disproportionately impacts young people, Indigenous communities, communities of color, and low-income communities," the coalition asserted. "Climate chaos has already cost California billions in damages and health costs from fossil fuel pollution and climate disasters. Jim Cooper, who has just been elected Sacramento County Sheriff, has reported $36,350 in Big Oil campaign contributions from this election season alone."
\u201c@CalPERS @CalSTRS To be clear: #SB1173 is dead because @AsmJimCooper, who's received $218,186 from Big Oil, refused to allow the bill to be voted on in his committee.\n\nThe fossil fuel industry has a chokehold on our political system & our representatives\u2014which is exactly why we need to divest.\u201d— Fossil Free California (@Fossil Free California) 1655844140
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-33) said in a statement that "while I am deeply disappointed that my Senate Bill 1173 was not set for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement this week, I remain committed to the necessary and ongoing fight against the impacts of climate change on our state, and especially those communities in my district that are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of the climate crisis."
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies, and this demand will only grow stronger and louder," she continued.
James Stone of the Southern California Divestment Network said that "today is a sad day in the history of California when the fossil fuel industry and its political allies defeated the will of the majority of CalSTRS and CalPERS beneficiaries and silenced the voices of the majority of the citizens of our great state."
"This defeat is just a temporary setback, however. We will organize to come back stronger to make our demand for fossil fuel divestment heard because fossil fuel companies are driving us toward unimaginable disaster and neither CalSTRS and CalPERS management nor our elected representatives are doing enough to hold them accountable," he added. "We must prevail because our common future is at stake."
\u201cJoin our friends @Y_Vs_A to demand that the California State Assembly #DivestFromFossilFuels!\n\nAt 9:00am on June 22nd, we\u2019ll be gathering in support of SB1173, despite @AsmJimCooper to let them know that @CalSTRS & @CalPERS must divest! \n\nTo sign up, go to https://t.co/rcS90WlmTd\u201d— Amy Gray (@Amy Gray) 1655845516
Marlay'ja Hackett, a 15-year-old activist with Youth vs. Apocalypse, asserted that "the fossil fuel industry doesn't benefit low-income communities or people of color. We are never considered when they make decisions about their business."
"It's infuriating that our elected officials take huge donations from this industry," she added, "and then turn around and deny young people, frontline communities, and our entire movement the chance to even make our case and have a fair vote."
Lizbeth Ibarra, also of Youth vs. Apocalypse, added that "Jim Cooper just decided to continue investing public money in the unequal suffering of my community."
"CalPERS and CalSTRS have been invested in these companies for decades, and during that time, their 'engagement' has come nowhere close to stopping the harm to my community or our world," she continued. "Instead, fossil fuel companies have put billions into lies and disinformation to stop life-saving action on climate and pollution, and billions into exploiting more and more dangerous forms of fossil fuel extraction."
"They've been responsible for causing sickness and death to the two million Californians who live within a mile of fossil fuel infrastructure, a disproportionate amount of whom are Black and Brown communities like mine," Ibarra added. "Jim Cooper decided this injustice didn't even deserve a vote."
Climate, environmental, and social justice advocates on Tuesday condemned the decision by a Democratic California lawmaker to kill proposed legislation that would require two of the state's leading pension funds to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies."
"Today amidst a historic mega-drought, wildfires, and fossil-fueled public health crises, Assemblymember Jim Cooper, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, refused to allow Senate Bill 1173, California's Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, to be heard in his committee," Fossil Free California said in a statement. "This one-man veto allows the state's pensions to continue to invest billions from public funds into the fossil fuel industry, for now."
S.B. 1173 would have prohibited the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)--the two largest public pension funds in the United States--from making or renewing investments in fossil fuel companies. The measure would also have required the pensions to liquidate their fossil fuel holdings by 2030. The two funds currently hold an estimated $9 billion in fossil fuel investments.
"This decision is a moral failure that disproportionately impacts young people, Indigenous communities, communities of color, and low-income communities," the coalition asserted. "Climate chaos has already cost California billions in damages and health costs from fossil fuel pollution and climate disasters. Jim Cooper, who has just been elected Sacramento County Sheriff, has reported $36,350 in Big Oil campaign contributions from this election season alone."
\u201c@CalPERS @CalSTRS To be clear: #SB1173 is dead because @AsmJimCooper, who's received $218,186 from Big Oil, refused to allow the bill to be voted on in his committee.\n\nThe fossil fuel industry has a chokehold on our political system & our representatives\u2014which is exactly why we need to divest.\u201d— Fossil Free California (@Fossil Free California) 1655844140
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-33) said in a statement that "while I am deeply disappointed that my Senate Bill 1173 was not set for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement this week, I remain committed to the necessary and ongoing fight against the impacts of climate change on our state, and especially those communities in my district that are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of the climate crisis."
"Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state's pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies, and this demand will only grow stronger and louder," she continued.
James Stone of the Southern California Divestment Network said that "today is a sad day in the history of California when the fossil fuel industry and its political allies defeated the will of the majority of CalSTRS and CalPERS beneficiaries and silenced the voices of the majority of the citizens of our great state."
"This defeat is just a temporary setback, however. We will organize to come back stronger to make our demand for fossil fuel divestment heard because fossil fuel companies are driving us toward unimaginable disaster and neither CalSTRS and CalPERS management nor our elected representatives are doing enough to hold them accountable," he added. "We must prevail because our common future is at stake."
\u201cJoin our friends @Y_Vs_A to demand that the California State Assembly #DivestFromFossilFuels!\n\nAt 9:00am on June 22nd, we\u2019ll be gathering in support of SB1173, despite @AsmJimCooper to let them know that @CalSTRS & @CalPERS must divest! \n\nTo sign up, go to https://t.co/rcS90WlmTd\u201d— Amy Gray (@Amy Gray) 1655845516
Marlay'ja Hackett, a 15-year-old activist with Youth vs. Apocalypse, asserted that "the fossil fuel industry doesn't benefit low-income communities or people of color. We are never considered when they make decisions about their business."
"It's infuriating that our elected officials take huge donations from this industry," she added, "and then turn around and deny young people, frontline communities, and our entire movement the chance to even make our case and have a fair vote."
Lizbeth Ibarra, also of Youth vs. Apocalypse, added that "Jim Cooper just decided to continue investing public money in the unequal suffering of my community."
"CalPERS and CalSTRS have been invested in these companies for decades, and during that time, their 'engagement' has come nowhere close to stopping the harm to my community or our world," she continued. "Instead, fossil fuel companies have put billions into lies and disinformation to stop life-saving action on climate and pollution, and billions into exploiting more and more dangerous forms of fossil fuel extraction."
"They've been responsible for causing sickness and death to the two million Californians who live within a mile of fossil fuel infrastructure, a disproportionate amount of whom are Black and Brown communities like mine," Ibarra added. "Jim Cooper decided this injustice didn't even deserve a vote."
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.