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Article

14 Dec 2016

Author:
John Schwartz, New York Times (USA)

Report: Commitment to fossil fuel divestment increased significantly

“Investment Funds Worth Trillions Are Dropping Fossil Fuel Stocks”, 12 Dec 2016

Investors controlling more than $5 trillion in assets have committed to dropping some or all fossil fuel stocks from their portfolios, according to a new report…[D]ivestment has expanded to the business world and institutional world, and includes large pension funds, insurers, financial institutions and religious organizations. It has also spread around the world, with 688 institutions and nearly 60,000 individuals…divesting themselves of shares in at least some kinds of oil, gas and coal companies…The movement has also received a boost from last year’s Paris climate agreement…The push for emissions reductions underscored the potential for the industry to be faced with reserves of fuels that cannot be burned if the targets are to be met — a prospect known as “stranded assets.”…Divesting from coal, an industry in the midst of a long-term decline, has proved to be relatively straightforward, and recent drops in the prices of oil and gas have hurt…those industries as well…