Fossil Fuel Divestment Information
On February 27, 2014 Fossil Free Somerville presented their request to divest the pension fund from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies (as defined by carbontracker.org) within a five year period to the Somerville Retirement Board.
Since that time the Somerville Retirement Board has been performing ongoing due diligence and research on fossil fuel divestment and the impact divestment would have on the pension fund investment portfolio.
The Somerville Retirement Board is very interested in the opinion, thought, comments and feedback of all Retirees and current Members. Please e-mail your comments, thoughts or opinion as to whether or not the Somerville Retirement Board should divest the pension fund investment portfolio of its top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies to: retirement@somervillema.gov
Please check back here for updates as this discussion continues.
- The Somerville Times: "Farewell to fossil-fuel investments?" (3-5-2014)
- The Chronicle of Higher Education: "What Fossil-Fuel Divestment Would Cost" (3-18-2013)
- Mass Retiree: "Divest Fossil Fuel From Pension Funds" (3-2014)
- The Somerville Times: "Prepared to set a precedent?" (4-16-2014)
- The Somerville Times: "Somerville's Board of Aldermen unanimously approves resolution supporting fossil fuel divestment"
- Bloomberg New Energy Finance: "Fossil fuel divestment: a $5 trillion challenge" (8-24-2014)
- Mass Retirees: "MACRS Executive Board Votes to Oppose Divestiture of Fossil Fuels in Pension Funds" (9-13-2013)
- Carbon Tracker Initiative: "Unburnable Carbon: Are the world's financial markets carrying a carbon bubble?"
- Harvard Magazine: "The Fight for Fossil-Fuel Divestment" (2-25-2014)
- Harvard University Institute of Politics: "Does Divestment Work?"
- Middlebury College: "Middlebury College Statement on Divestment" (8-28-2013)
- Pensions & Investments: "Investors' paths diverge on fossil fuels"
- Responding to Climate Change: "World Bank chief backs fossil fuel divestment drive" (1-27-2014)
- Loomis Sayles: "The second leg of the US energy revolution" (8-2014)
Miscellaneous
- 1-16-2016 Law Department's Legal Opinion of Fossil Fuel Divestment
- Somerville Retirement Board Statement on Fossil Fuel Divestment
- City Solicitor Letters to Aldermen (05-2014)
- PERAC memo #49, 2012: Investment Under Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2011
- PERAC Letter 06-2015 Regarding Fossil Fuel Investments
Links
- Fossil Free Somerville (part of national climate change advocacy group 350.org)
- Documentary: Do the Math
- Documentary: Disruption
- San Francisco Retirement Board Meeting video (06-2014)
- Stanford to Purge 18 Billion Endowment of Coal Stock
- Pitzer College Divests its Over $100 Million Endowment from Fossil Fuels
- Somerville Board of Alderman Meeting Passing Divestment Resolution
- Study: Divesting is Not Financially Risky
- Op-ed from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone (1-16-2014)
- Better Future Project: State of Fossil Fuel Divestment in Other MA Municipalities
- Boston Carbon Risk Forum (9-29-2014)
Programs & Initiatives
If you are a business, consultant, or non-profit that may be able to support Somerville’s business community, we encourage you to respond to our Request for Information (RFI).
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