Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deborah Messing, who is a volunteer with 350 Vermont.
[A]s we welcome the arrival of spring, which has been celebrated through human history as a time of rebirth, resurgence and the resilience of nature, we now have to realize that this planet we inhabit is fragile, its resilience finite, and that urgent measures must be taken to ensure that we maintain its health for future generations.
The vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is real, caused by humans and reversible only if serious changes are made in the way we live. Many of us have already taken steps to reduce our personal carbon footprints – by insulating our homes, driving less and in more energy efficient cars, consuming less – and the list goes on. But the accumulating evidence of serious ecological disasters related to the changing climate mounts inexorably.
The movement to divest from fossil fuels, both on an institutional and personal level, has gained traction in recent years as a tool to pressure governments and corporations to switch course while there is still time – specifically to stop burning carbon-emitting fossil fuels in favor of clean renewable energy as well as to stop searching for and developing new reserves. The exploitation of fossil fuels in the Arctic, tar sands and deep sea waters, which scientists say must stay in the ground to avoid warming the atmosphere above the danger limit of 2C, is dominated by the top 200 fossil fuel companies.
Divestment has proven effective as a strategy for change in recent years in the campaigns against apartheid in South Africa, genocide in Darfur and Big Tobacco. And the potential of large number of investors shifting from fossil fuel investments to renewable, clean energy investments is huge.
The movement to divest from fossil fuels, both on an institutional and personal level, has gained traction in recent years as a tool to pressure governments and corporations to switch course while there is still time.
Come join us at the two-part Spring Divestment series sponsored by 350 Vermont and its allies:
At our Carbon Risk Forum on Tuesday, April 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Unitarian Church in Montpelier, we will listen to a panel of experts speak to legislators and Vermont Pension Investment Committee members about the moral and financial imperative of divesting Vermont’s pension funds from fossil fuels. The panel will include Beth Sawin of Climate Interactive, Bill McKibben of 350.org, Eric Becker of Clean Yield Asset Management, and Matthew Patsky of Trillium Asset Management. Q&A will follow.
Then, “Your Investments Matter: Personal Divestment Seminar” on Saturday, May 2, presented by 350Vermont and divestor.org , from 3:30 to 5 p.m., with a reception to follow, at the Great Room (third floor) Main St. Landing, 60 Lake St., Burlington, will bring a panel of experts to speak about the ins and outs of personal divestment. If you’re curious about how you can divest your own portfolio, no matter how large or small, from fossil fuels, come listen to (and talk with) Dan Quinlan of Divestor.org, Tom Francis of Fossil Free Indexes, Karin Chamberlain of Clean Yield Asset Management, Harris Roen of The Roen Report, and Jake Ide of Vermont Community Loan Fund. Q&A and refreshments will follow.
If you are unable to join us, this event will be live streamed here.
For more information on either event, contact Jillian, the 350VT divestment organizer, at Jillian@350vt.org or https://www.divestor.org/VTforum.html
