Shared from Gizmodo | Earther

1,000 Organizations Have Pulled Their Money Out of Fossil Fuels in Major Milestone

Brian Kahn Today 11:34am

There are a few levers of power that can shut down fossil fuel companies, one of which is to cut off their supply of money. And investors are starting to do just that in increasingly greater numbers.

On Thursday, a new milestone was reached. A coalition of environmental groups who monitor divestment released a report at the Poland climate talks showing that the number of groups pulling their money out of fossil fuels had reached 1,000. Together, these groups manage nearly $8 trillion worth of funds.

Divesting from fossil fuels follows a similar playbook from the campaign to divest from South Africa during apartheid. The goal in this case isn’t to spur radical political change, but rather help spur a radical decrease in carbon pollution needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The movement has grown by leaps and bounds since the Go Fossil Free campaign, the umbrella for the groups forcing the issue, began tracking divestment in 2012. Then, 181 institutions managing $50 billion in assets were on board with divestment. The leap to 1,000 institutions and $8 trillion in just six years shows how fast the movement has grown up, though even as more action is needed. Announcing it at the Poland climate talks is one way to spur some of those actions.
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