May, 25 2021, 12:00am EDT
New York State Teachers Pension Fund Increases Coal Investments to Over $300 Million
Despite the climate crisis and the coal industry’s decline, NYSTRS’ investments in coal increased by 6.2 million shares and $70.5 million in fourth quarter of 2020 new report finds.
Albany, NY
A new report released today shows that the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) has more than $300 million invested in companies with substantial coal reserves. NYSTRS owns stocks in 36 companies on the Carbon Underground Coal 100 List and increased their investments in 24 of those same companies by a total of 6.2 million shares as recently as the last quarter of 2020. This includes an addition of 1.1 million shares of the Chinese coal company, Shaanxi Coal Industry Co, that has the second largest coal reserves in the world estimated to represent 27.8 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions, more than five times the annual CO2 emissions of the United States.
The expansion of NYSTRS' investments in the dirtiest fossil fuel companies flies in the face of increased recognition that these fuels represent unprecedented financial and climate risk and are set to decline even further under recent modeling released by the International Energy Agency. The chief of the IEA last week called fossil fuels "junk investments".
"As a recent public school teacher, I can tell you just how devastating it is to work so hard every day to protect our community's future and its children, only to have your pension invested in an industry that's actively harming that future and those children. The fact that coal is also such a financially risky investment of already under-paid teachers' pensions adds more insult to injury." said Senator Jabari Brisport, lead Senate sponsor on the Teachers' Fossil Fuel Divestment Act (S4783A/A6331A). The Act would force the pension fund to responsibly divest from coal within 1 years and from all fossil fuels within 2 years.
"In a time of rapidly increasing global temperatures reaching levels that can lead to runaway climate change, we are all being called on to play a role in reducing our collective greenhouse gas production. Continuing to invest in oil and gas companies and companies that are based on significant coal production and consumption no longer makes fiscal sense and puts the future of our youth at stake. The bill I have introduced with Senator Brisport requiring the NYS Teachers' Retirement System to divest $4 billion from fossil fuel companies, including $311 million from coal is an investment in the future teachers are working so hard to build." said Assembly Member Anna Kelles, who is Assembly lead sponsor of the Teachers Divestment Act which now has more than 62 sponsors.
NYSTRS has over $120 billion in assets making it the second largest pension fund in New York State and one of the ten largest in the country. The New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) that is overseen by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is the largest New York pension.
Comptroller DiNapoli divested the CRF from 22 coal companies in July 2020 as part of his Climate Action Plan. "Investors who fail to face the risks and seize the opportunities presented by climate change put their portfolios in jeopardy," DiNapoli said in his press release announcing the coal review and divestment process. "We are assessing minimum standards for transition readiness at coal mining companies first, because they face the greatest risk as the world turns to cleaner and renewable energies." Most recently, the CRF divested from oil sands companies and is now reviewing shale oil and gas investments.
Out of the 22 coal companies that Comptroller DiNapoli divested from, NYSTRS still owns stocks in seven of them worth $9.6 million. NYSTRS' investments in 5 of these seven companies increased in the last quarter of 2020.
"The blindfold needs to be taken off. We are far too deep into the climate crisis to be taking steps backwards. My teachers who are working tirelessly to cultivate my mind for the future should not be receiving their pension funds from the investments made in the destruction of my future," said Mandy Berghela, a high school student and member of the New York Youth Climate Leaders.
Teachers have expressed support for divestment. Sixteen NYSUT locals submitted resolutions calling on NYSTRS to divest including the statewide UUP, PSC CUNY, Buffalo, Albany and Troy locals. These resolutions were sent to NYSUT's general assembly. Last year, NYSUT passed a resolution in support of divestment. NYSTRS, which has over 434,000 members and beneficiaries, is under the oversight of the State Legislature. It has an estimated $4.5 billion in fossil fuel holdings.
New York's climate law requires net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In addition to the CRF's commitment to divest from risky coal, oil and gas companies, three of five New York City pensions, including the NYC teachers, are currently divesting $4 billion from fossil fuels. Governor Cuomo has directed public authorities with assets valued at over $40 billion to divest from fossil fuels. Yet the NYS Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) has neglected to develop a divestment plan or any type of climate action plan.
Across the world and here in New York State, more than 1,300 institutions with assets over $14 trillion including over 300 pension funds and governments have committed to divest from fossil fuels. Both the American Federation of Teachers and NYS United Teachers have passed resolutions in favor of divestment.
The report can be downloaded here
Additional Quotes:
"Coal has been one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis we are confronting today. Coal's financially lucrative days peaked years ago. Continuing to invest and even increasing investments in the dirtiest fossil fuel is simply unacceptable and must stop now. The fiduciaries of NYSTRS are complicit in contributing to climate catastrophe by choosing to invest New York State's public school teachers' retirement fund in coal. Investing in any other sector besides fossil fuels would yield more money for the pension. NYSTRS must divest from coal now." - Barbara Pal, Divest NY Coalition Coordinator, VicePresident of 350NJ-Rockland, Co-Chair of Divest NJ
"NYSTRS' investment in coal and other fossil fuels allows these companies to profit from products that are jeopardizing all life on this planet. And, as Divest NY's coal report shows, these investments represent an unacceptable financial risk to the retired teachers who have entrusted NYSTRS to responsibly invest. NYSTRS's investment in coal is morally unacceptable and violates its fiduciary responsibility to retired teachers. The Interfaith Climate Justice Community of WNY calls on NYSTRS to follow the lead of NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli who has divested the Common Retirement Fund of its coal holdings on environmental and fiduciary grounds," said Sister Eileen O'Connor and Roger Cook, ICJC Co-conveners
"Divestment works -- just ask leading scientists, economists, investors, or fossil fuel companies themselves. Not only is it the prudent financial choice, given the industry's longstanding financial underperformance and future risk. It's the moral imperative, given the immense racial, social, and economic injustice that accompanies a warming world." said Connor Chung, a student and organizer with Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard.
"As the climate crisis continues to accelerate, and as fossil fuels become more and more obsolete everyday, divestment is absolutely necessary for the protection of life on earth as well as providing a sustainable future for the youth of today," said Matt Oill, member of Divest NY and the New York Youth Climate Leaders.
"As a teacher I am concerned about the future of my students, AND I'm concerned about the financial stability of my retirement fund. If Comptroller DiNapoli believes it is financially irresponsible to invest in fossil fuels why is my pension fund still invested?" said Lauren Kirkwood, a teacher and Divest NY member.
"With the state pension fund already showing leadership by divesting from coal and oil sands companies, citing increased risk, it makes no sense for its sister fund, the Teachers fund, to remain invested in these same companies and industries. It's time for the Teachers fund to enter the 21st century and stop invested in the fuels of the 19th century," said Richard Brooks, Stand.earth's Climate Finance Director.
"As the world moves away from and replaces coal projects with renewables and banks and insurance companies decide to stop investing and underwriting coal, it seems almost unbelievable that NYSTRS is increasing its holdings in coal. The fiduciaries are betraying their obligation to achieve acceptable risk for their members and retirees. Teachers, demand that your pension divest from coal immediately and oil and gas thereafter. Stranded assets won't fund your retirement!" said Tina Weishaus, Co-Chair of Divest New Jersey
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
LATEST NEWS
Ahead of Treaty Negotiations, Hundreds March to 'End the Plastic Era'
"As adults who come to Ottawa to negotiate the plastic treaty, you must protect our rights to live in a healthy and safe environment," one young activists said.
Apr 21, 2024
Days before national delegates gather for the fourth and penultimate negotiations to develop a Global Plastics Treaty in Ottawa, Canada, around 500 Indigenous and community representatives, members of civil society and environmental groups, and experts and scientists gathered for a "March to End the Plastic Era" on Sunday.
The protesters, organized under the banner of Break Free From Plastic, called for a treaty that significantly reduces plastic production and centers the frontline communities most impacted by the plastics crisis.
"Delegates must act like our lives depend on it—because they do," Daniela Duran Gonzales, senior legal campaigner with the Center for International Environmental Law, said in a statement. "Our climate goals, the protection of human health, the enjoyment of human rights, and the rights of future generations all rest on whether the future plastics treaty will control and reduce polymers to successfully end the plastic pollution crisis."
"Short-sighted business interests must be out of the room because the only way to achieve equitable livelihoods is when we have a healthy planet."
The official meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to craft a "international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment," will run from April 23 to 29 in the Canadian capital.
Break Free From Plastic called the negotiations a "make or break" moment for the treaty, which is supposed to be completed in late 2024 in Busan, South Korean. However, civil society groups have expressed concern that oil-producing countries and the plastics industry will water down the agreement and steer it toward waste management and recycling, which has been revealed to be a false solution to plastic pollution knowingly promoted by the industry for decades.
The last round of negotiations concluded in late 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, with little progress made after 143 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists attended.
Salisa Traipipitsiriwat of Thailand, who is the senior campaigner and Southeast Asia plastics project manager for the Environmental Justice Foundation, said ahead of Sunday's march that it was "crucial for world leaders to step up and put the people and planet at the forefront."
"Short-sighted business interests must be out of the room because the only way to achieve equitable livelihoods is when we have a healthy planet," Traipipitsiriwat added.
On Sunday, marchers gathered for a press conference at 10:30 am ET before marching at around 11:30 am from Parliament Hill to the Shaw Center, were negotiations will begin on Tuesday. Crowds began to disperse around 1:30 pm. Participants carried large banners with messages including, "End the plastic era," "End multigenerational toxic exposure," and pointing out that 99% of plastics came from fossil fuels. The gathering featured live music and art, including a giant tap pouring out plastics and a "Plastisaurus rex" with the message "Make single-use plastic extinct."
(Photo: Break Free From Plastics)
"Now's the time to be bold and push for a treaty that cuts plastic production and holds polluters accountable," Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a pre-march statement. "I'm inspired to be joining so many advocates in Ottawa, standing up against the enormous harm the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are causing to people's health and the planet. I hope to see countries showing ambition this week, and I urge them to remember what's at stake for future generations."
Civil society groups have compiled several demands for an ambitious and effective treaty. These are:
- Centering human rights, especially those of Indigenous communities, young people, and workers most impacted by plastic pollution;
- Protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples throughout the treaty process;
- Dealing with plastics across their entire lifecyle;
- Reducing production as a "nonnegotiable" part of the treaty;
- Eliminating toxic chemicals and additives from plastics;
- Bolstering reuse systems for plastics that are non-toxic;
- Prioritizing first prevention, then reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal when managing plastic waste;
- Ending "waste colonialism" by strengthening regulations for trading plastics;
- Guaranteeing a "just transition" for people employed across the plastics lifecycle;
- Including "non-party" provisions in the treaty;
- Establishing a mechanism to fund countries so they can fully implement the treaty; and
- Enshrining conflict-of-interest policies as a protection against plastics industry lobbying.
The coalition emphasized the need to tackle the problem of plastic from cradle to grave.
"Plastic doesn't just become pollution when it's thrown away," said Jessica Roff, the U.S. and Canada plastics and petrochemicals program manager for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. "Plastic is pollution, from the moment the fossil fuels are extracted from the ground to the eternity of waste it spawns."
Chrie Wilke, global advocacy manager for the Waterkeeper Alliance, said "Clearly the crux of the plastic pollution crisis is too much plastic being produced. There is no way to recycle our way out of this. We must face the fact that plastic and petrochemicals, at current production levels, endanger waterways, communities, and fisheries across the globe. Cutting production and implementing non-plastic alternatives and reuse systems is essential."
(Photo: Ben Powless/Survival Media Agency)
Activists also emphasized the environmental justice implications of plastic pollution, and how some communities and groups are more burdened than others, both from the dangers of the production process and from waste disposal.
"Children and youth like me suffer the most and are recognized as a vulnerable group," said Aeshnina 'Nina' Azzahra, the founder of River Warrior Indonesia. "My playground and my future are at risk. We all want our environment to be plastic-free, but please don't put your burden on the other side of the world—this is NOT fair. As adults who come to Ottawa to negotiate the plastic treaty, you must protect our rights to live in a healthy and safe environment."
Jo Banner, co-founder and co-directer of The Descendants Project, said:"Frontline community members, such as myself, are participating in these treaty negotiations with heavy hearts as our communities back home are struggling with sickness and disease caused by the upstream production of plastic."
"Although our hearts are heavy, they are full with passion urging negotiators to aim for an ambitious treaty that caps plastic production," Banner added. "Areas such as my hometown, located in the heart of Louisiana's Cancer Alley, need a strong treaty now. There is no more time to waste."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Obvious Evidence of Genocide': Mass Grave Discovered in Gaza's Nasser Hospital
Palestinian rescue workers said they found hundreds of bodies, some with their hands bound and others with their skin, organs, or heads removed.
Apr 21, 2024
Palestinian civil defense discovered hundreds of bodies buried by Israeli forces in a mass grave inside the complex of Khan Younis' Nasser Medical Complex on Saturday.
Rescue workers said they had removed at least 200 bodies as of 12:00 pm local time on Sunday, and they estimated that at least another 200 remained, Middle East Eye reported.
"We found corpses without heads, bodies without skins, and some had their organs stolen," the director-general of the Government Media Office said in a statement shared by Quds News Network.
"Following the mass graves at Al-Shifa hospital, it looks like Israel is a voracious death machine turning hospitals in Gaza into graveyards."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from Khan Younis on April 7. While they occupied the city, they stormed the Nasser Medical Complex in February, arresting several doctors, damaging the structure with shelling, and rendering it unable to function as a hospital.
Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud said the bodies found in the Nasser grave included children, young men, and older women. Rescues said that some of the bodies they found had been buried with their hands tied behind their backs, according to Middle East Eye.
"Our teams continue their search and retrieval operations for the remaining martyrs in the coming days as there are still a significant number of them," Palestinian emergency services said in a statement shared with Al Jazeera.
The news came as the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Saturday to send another $26 billion to Israel, including for military aid.
"These mass graves are obvious evidence of genocide and the most unthinkable war crimes. And yet, the House just signed off on $26 billion in weapons to fuel the genocidal Israeli military, while Israel threatens a full scale ground invasion to massacre Palestinians in Rafah," the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights said on social media.
This is not the first mass grave that has been discovered near a Gaza Strip hospital since Israel began its devastating bombardment and invasion following Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel. When the IDF withdrew from the al-Shifa hospital earlier this month, Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat reported seeing hundreds of dead bodies outside the hospital, many that had had their hands and legs bound and their bodies run-over by bulldozers. Al Jazeera reported that several mass graves were found near al-Shifa.
"Following the mass graves at Al-Shifa hospital, it looks like Israel is a voracious death machine turning hospitals in Gaza into graveyards. Wake up world!" Palestinian politician and activist Hanan Ashrawi wrote on social media.
Muhammad Shehada, the communications chief for Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, expressed shock that there was not more media coverage of the Nasser grave.
"I CANNOT find a single headline in any mainstream media about this!" Shehada wrote on social media. "Imagine it was Ukraine? or Israel?"
Over the weekend, the the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll from Israel's war on Gaza surpassed 34,000, though this is likely an undercount since several people remain trapped beneath rubble.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Historic Number of Democratic Reps Vote Against Unconditional Aid to Israel
"Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu's war in Gaza," a group of nearly 20 of the 37 no-voting lawmakers said.
Apr 20, 2024
Nearly 40 House Democrats voted against a measure to send around $26 billion more to Israel as it continues its war on Gaza that human rights experts have deemed a genocide.
While the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act passed the Republican-led House by a vote of 366-58, party insiders said it was significant that such a large number of Democrats had opposed it, with more centrist lawmakers joining progressives who have called for a cease-fire since October.
"Despite the weapons aid package passing, this is the largest number of Democratic lawmakers to vote against unrestricted weapons aid for Israel in recent memory," senior Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid observed on social media.
"If Congress votes to continue to supply offensive military aid, we make ourselves complicit in this tragedy."
Human rights lawyer, lobbyist, and former Democratic National Committee committeewoman Yasmine Taeb posted that it was "incredibly significant that 37 Democrats voted NO and rejected AIPAC's role and influence in the party."
Senior Democrats who opposed the funding included Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
The bill earmarks around $4 billion for Israel's missile defense systems and more than $9 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza, according toThe Associated Press. However, while lawmakers approved of individual expenditures, they balked at giving more unconditional military aid to the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"U.S. law demands that we withhold weapons to anyone who frustrates the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid, and President Biden's own recent National Security Memorandum requires countries that use U.S.-provided weapons to adhere to U.S. and international law regarding the protection of civilians," McGovern said in a statement explaining his vote. "To date, Netanyahu has failed to comply. It's time for President Biden to use our leverage to demand change."
Nearly 20 Democratic representatives released a joint statement explaining their vote. They were McGovern, Doggett, Watson Coleman, Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii).
"This is a moment of great consequence—the world is watching," the lawmakers wrote. "Today is, in many ways, Congress' first official vote where we can weigh in on the direction of this war. If Congress votes to continue to supply offensive military aid, we make ourselves complicit in this tragedy."
The lawmakers clarified that their no votes were specifically "votes against supplying more offensive weapons that could result in more killings of civilians in Rafah and elsewhere."
While they acknowledged that Israel had a right to defend itself, they argued that its greatest security would come from a cease-fire that enabled the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and peace negotiations to begin in earnest.
"Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu's war in Gaza," they concluded. "The United States needs to help Israel find a path to win the peace."
Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who also voted no, said that he "could not in good conscience vote for more offensive weapons to be given to Israel to be used in Gaza without any conditions attached."
Pocan further called the "devastation inflicted upon innocent civilians in Gaza" "unjustifiable" and argued that "further arming Netanyahu and his extreme coalition could only lead us to a wider conflict in the Middle East."
In a speech on the House floor, Lee also criticized the bill for failing to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which provides the bulk of aid to the Gaza Strip. The U.S. paused funds for the agency following Israeli allegations that 12 of its employees participated in Hamas' October 7 attack, but other nations have since restored funding as the veracity of these allegations has been called into question.
"This is a grave abdication of U.S. humanitarian obligations," Lee said. "It is simply nonsensical to provide badly needed humanitarian assistance while simultaneously funding weapons that will be used to make the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worse."
She added, "The United States taxpayers should not be funding unconditional military weapons to a conflict that has created a catastrophic humanitarian disaster."
The bill sending funds to Israel was only one of several measures passed on Saturday as part of a $95 billion foreign spending package that will also provide a long-delayed approximately $61 billion for Ukraine in its war with Russia and around $8 billion to counter China in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Among the bills passed Saturday was one banning popular social media app TikTok in the U.S. if the Chinese company that owns it refuses to sell, theAP reported further.
The package will now go to the U.S. Senate, which could pass it as early as Tuesday. President Joe Biden has promised to sign the measures as soon as he receives them.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular