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
"The groundswell that's been building around the planet for divestment derives its power from everyone working together toward the same end." (Photo: Screenshot/Twitter)
Irish Parliament Makes History With Vote to Divest Country Fully From Fossil Fuels
Ireland today becomes the first country in the world to have voted to fully divest itself from the fossil fuel companies responsible for the climate crisis
Jul 12, 2018
I'm writing this with a Guinness clutched in one hand, because today the government of Ireland gave us big reason to celebrate: it became the first nation on earth committing to divest fully from fossil fuel companies. The bill is expected to become law by the end of this year, and Ireland's EUR8bn sovereign fund will start ditching all its oil, coal and gas assets.
Irish activists have done amazing work to make this happen--I've watched with awe as activists from environmental groups and the Catholic social justice movement have transformed the debate in the country. But every one of you can take a little credit: the groundswell that's been building around the planet for divestment derives its power from everyone working together toward the same end. It's all one big fight.
Share this incredible breaking news on Facebook right now:
Or on Twitter here:
\u201cBREAKING: Ireland just became the first country in the world to fully divest from fossil fuels! #FossilFree\u201d— 350 dot org (@350 dot org) 1531408706
And we're winning more and more of that fight. The year began with New York City divesting--but it's continued with huge wins at universities and in cities around the globe. Just yesterday Queens College Cambridge, where Erasmus went to school in the 1480s, divested. A few days earlier it was the entire Church of England threatening to divest from fossil fuel companies, if they don't align with the Paris Agreement by 2023: we know already they won't.
And better yet, Shell officially noted in its annual report last month that divestment has come to pose a material risk to their business.
Yesterday our friends at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued a detailed report that's a godsend for everyone still working to convince their college, church, or city to commit to go Fossil Free--it shows that oil companies are a bad investment.
I know that it's a lousy moment right now--Trump is taking America backward, and trying to force the rest of the world to go with him. That's why we need to celebrate big wins when we get them. We're fighting for the zeitgeist--for the vision of the future. And today anyway we're winning.
And Guinness really does taste delicious.
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.
Bill Mckibben
Bill McKibben is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and co-founder of 350.org and ThirdAct.org. His most recent book is "Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?." He also authored "The End of Nature," "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet," and "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future."
I'm writing this with a Guinness clutched in one hand, because today the government of Ireland gave us big reason to celebrate: it became the first nation on earth committing to divest fully from fossil fuel companies. The bill is expected to become law by the end of this year, and Ireland's EUR8bn sovereign fund will start ditching all its oil, coal and gas assets.
Irish activists have done amazing work to make this happen--I've watched with awe as activists from environmental groups and the Catholic social justice movement have transformed the debate in the country. But every one of you can take a little credit: the groundswell that's been building around the planet for divestment derives its power from everyone working together toward the same end. It's all one big fight.
Share this incredible breaking news on Facebook right now:
Or on Twitter here:
\u201cBREAKING: Ireland just became the first country in the world to fully divest from fossil fuels! #FossilFree\u201d— 350 dot org (@350 dot org) 1531408706
And we're winning more and more of that fight. The year began with New York City divesting--but it's continued with huge wins at universities and in cities around the globe. Just yesterday Queens College Cambridge, where Erasmus went to school in the 1480s, divested. A few days earlier it was the entire Church of England threatening to divest from fossil fuel companies, if they don't align with the Paris Agreement by 2023: we know already they won't.
And better yet, Shell officially noted in its annual report last month that divestment has come to pose a material risk to their business.
Yesterday our friends at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued a detailed report that's a godsend for everyone still working to convince their college, church, or city to commit to go Fossil Free--it shows that oil companies are a bad investment.
I know that it's a lousy moment right now--Trump is taking America backward, and trying to force the rest of the world to go with him. That's why we need to celebrate big wins when we get them. We're fighting for the zeitgeist--for the vision of the future. And today anyway we're winning.
And Guinness really does taste delicious.
Bill Mckibben
Bill McKibben is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and co-founder of 350.org and ThirdAct.org. His most recent book is "Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?." He also authored "The End of Nature," "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet," and "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future."
I'm writing this with a Guinness clutched in one hand, because today the government of Ireland gave us big reason to celebrate: it became the first nation on earth committing to divest fully from fossil fuel companies. The bill is expected to become law by the end of this year, and Ireland's EUR8bn sovereign fund will start ditching all its oil, coal and gas assets.
Irish activists have done amazing work to make this happen--I've watched with awe as activists from environmental groups and the Catholic social justice movement have transformed the debate in the country. But every one of you can take a little credit: the groundswell that's been building around the planet for divestment derives its power from everyone working together toward the same end. It's all one big fight.
Share this incredible breaking news on Facebook right now:
Or on Twitter here:
\u201cBREAKING: Ireland just became the first country in the world to fully divest from fossil fuels! #FossilFree\u201d— 350 dot org (@350 dot org) 1531408706
And we're winning more and more of that fight. The year began with New York City divesting--but it's continued with huge wins at universities and in cities around the globe. Just yesterday Queens College Cambridge, where Erasmus went to school in the 1480s, divested. A few days earlier it was the entire Church of England threatening to divest from fossil fuel companies, if they don't align with the Paris Agreement by 2023: we know already they won't.
And better yet, Shell officially noted in its annual report last month that divestment has come to pose a material risk to their business.
Yesterday our friends at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued a detailed report that's a godsend for everyone still working to convince their college, church, or city to commit to go Fossil Free--it shows that oil companies are a bad investment.
I know that it's a lousy moment right now--Trump is taking America backward, and trying to force the rest of the world to go with him. That's why we need to celebrate big wins when we get them. We're fighting for the zeitgeist--for the vision of the future. And today anyway we're winning.
And Guinness really does taste delicious.
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.