Assets covered by fossil fuel divestment pledges reaches $5 trillion

A coalition of organizations devoted to fossil fuel divestment reports that “On the one-year anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, the value of assets represented by institutions and individuals committing to some sort of divestment from fossil fuel companies has reached $5 trillion.” The value of assets diverted from fossil fuels has doubled over the last 15 months, as 688 institutions and 58,399 individuals across 76 countries have committed to divest from fossil fuel companies. Pension funds and insurance companies represent the largest sectors committing to divestment. The report observes, “From its start on American college campuses five years ago, fossil fuel divestment has grown into a truly global movement, with more than half of all divesting institutions and individuals based outside the United States. The sectors that initially propelled the movement—universities, foundations, and faith-based organizations—continue steady growth, accounting for 54 percent of new commitments made. However, as large private and institutional asset holders recognize the reputational, financial, and legal risks of remaining invested in fossil fuels, divestment has spread to new sectors, including large insurers, pension funds, and banking institutions. Today no single sector accounts for more than a quarter of commitments made.” The report adds that, “While the election of Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, calls into question the United States’ ongoing commitment to reduce emissions, it does not affect the broader structural changes moving the energy sector away from fossil fuels. Any setback to official US climate policy elevates the importance of divestment as an organizing and financial tool to speed the clean energy transition.” A notable accomplishment of the divestment movement came in March, 2016, when the Rockefeller Family Fund pledged to divest as quickly as possible from all fossil fuels, including selling their shares of Exxon Mobil, as well as coal and Canadian tar sands. A century ago John D. Rockefeller Sr. made his fortune running Standard Oil, which ultimately evolved into Exxon Mobil. The Fund states:  “there is no sane rationale for companies to continue to explore for new sources of hydrocarbons.”**

*Arabella Advisors, The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment and Clean Energy Investment Movement (Washington, D.C.: Arabella Advisors, December, 2016), 1,
**Terry Wade and Anna Driver, “Rockefeller Family Fund hits Exxon, divests from fossil fuels,” Reuters, March 24, 2016,

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Air temperatures in the Arctic are peaking at an unheard-of 20 degrees Celsius higher than normal for the time of year; international report underscores threats

Sea temperatures are averaging nearly 4 degrees C higher than usual in October and November.* As summarized in The Guardian, the Arctic Resilience Report, a first comprehensive examination of ecosystems and societies in the Arctic identifies 19 “tipping points” in the Arctic region related to warming. These include: “growth in vegetation on tundra, which replaces reflective snow and ice with darker vegetation, thus absorbing more heat; higher releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the tundra as it warms; shifts in snow distribution that warm the ocean, resulting in altered climate patterns as far away as Asia, where the monsoon could be affected; and the collapse of some key Arctic fisheries, with knock-on effects on ocean ecosystems around the globe.” ** The
report notes that “The potential effects of Arctic regime shifts [or tipping points] on the rest of the world are substantial, yet poorly understood. Human-driven climate change greatly increases the risk of Arctic regime shifts, so reducing global greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to reducing this risk.”***

*John Vidal, “’Extraordinarily hot’ Arctic temperatures alarm scientists,”
Guardian, November 22, 2016,
** Fiona Harvey, “Arctic Ice Melt Could Trigger Uncontrollable Climate Change at Global Level,” Guardian, November 25, 2016,
*** Marcus Carson et al.), Arctic Resilience Report, Arctic Council, Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm 2016),

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The first World Climate Conference is organized by the United Nations and the World Health Organization

The conference held in Geneva includes 350 specialists from 53 countries and 24 international organizations and from a wide range of disciplines including agriculture, water resources, fisheries, energy, environment, ecology, biology, medicine, sociology and economics.  After two weeks of deliberations, the organizers issue a World Climate Conference Declaration:  “Having regard to the all-pervading influence of climate on human society and on many fields of human activities and endeavour, the Conference finds that it is now urgently necessary for the nations of the world:  (a) To take full advantage of man’s present knowledge of climate; (b) To take steps to improve significantly that knowledge; (c) To foresee and prevent potential man-made changes in climate that might be adverse to the well-being of humanity.”*

John W. Zillman, “A History of Climate Activities,” World Meteorological Association Bulletin Vol 58(3)2009,

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1972

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, meeting in Stockholm and attended by 113 nations, is the first global meeting of nations to consider environmental concerns

The Conference Declaration opens with the finding that “The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments … In our time, man’s capability to transform his surroundings, if used wisely, can bring to all peoples the benefits of development and the opportunity to enhance the quality of life. Wrongly or heedlessly applied, the same power can do incalculable harm to human beings and the human environment. We see around us growing evidence of man-made harm in many regions of the earth: dangerous levels of pollution in water, air, earth and living beings; major and undesirable disturbances to the ecological balance of the biosphere; destruction and depletion of irreplaceable resources; and gross deficiencies, harmful to the physical, mental and social health of man, in the man-made environment, particularly in the living and working environment.”  Participant nations agree to 26 general principles, including Principle 6: “The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems,” and Principle 12: “Resources should be made available to preserve and improve the environment, taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries and any costs which may emanate from their incorporating environmental safeguards into their development planning and the need for making available to them, upon their request, additional international technical and financial assistance for this purpose.” The very first recommendation under the Conference’s “Action Plan,” under “Identification and Control of Pollutants of Broad International Significance,” is Recommendation 70, targeting climate change:  “It is recommended that Governments be mindful of activities in which there is an appreciable risk of effects on climate, and to this end: (a) Carefully evaluate the likelihood and magnitude of climatic effects and disseminate their findings to the maximum extent feasible before embarking on such activities; (b) Consult fully other interested States when activities carrying a risk of such effects are being contemplated or implemented.”^*

^*Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June, 1972,

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