FAQ for Training Volunteers: NYC/NYS Divestment
1. What does the petitions say? Calls for Comptroller Stringer to divest from the top 200 fossil fuels
companies (oil, gas and coal). We also have a petition calling on the State Comptroller, DiNapoli to do the
same with the State pension funds.
2. Why Divest, what good will it do? Fossil fuels are causing global warming, doesn’t make sense for
NYC/NYS to spend billions responding to climate change and then invest our money in making the
problem bigger. We can reinvest a lot of money in solutions, renewable energy. We can break the power
of the fossil fuel industry over our political system by stigmatizing the industry and making support for
them socially unacceptable. Already have 5 X more fossil fuels in reserves than we can burn, so is risk of
a carbon bubble.
3. Why not just invest in good kinds of energy, why divest? We advocate using the funds to invest in
renewable energy and other investments for a green economy. Divesting is the way to free up more
money for this, and make a bold statement signaling an end to the destructive fossil fuel industry.
4. What is a Fossil Fuel? Oil, Gas and Coal. Including the natural gas that comes from fracking. Fossil
Fuels are getting more dangerous and more expensive to extract all the time.
5. Why not engage with the companies, and ask them to change to renewable energy? Why not
Shareholder engagement? Shareholder engagement can be effective in many situations. But not for the
types of companies we are talking about here, where their business plan is to extract and hold onto more
oil, gas and coal. They already have 5 times as much as they can burn without causing total catastrophe
and they have stated their plan to keep extracting.
6. What about fiduciary responsibility? We can’t risk losing money. Studies show that you can
actually make just as good a return on your investments by leaving off the top 200 Fossil Fuel companies.
Pension funds have a fiduciary responsibility not to take too many long term risks. Many think the only
way to make profit is to invest in Oil, but the truth is that fossil fuels may be a big risk since the energy
economy is transitioning. There are new ways all the time to invest in fossil free funds. There are a lot of
other costs to these investments, besides immediate returns, like spending billions to prepare and
respond to the climate crisis.
7. How much money is in fossil fuels? How much money is in the pension funds? NYC pension
funds has about 127 billion dollars New York State has about 160 billion. About 5% of any pension fund
is in fossil fuels, which includes oil, gas and coal. If we change the way NY pension funds do business,
we can change the investment industry by creating new fossil free investment products.
8. What could will it do to divest, those companies will just get money elsewhere? This may be
true, but it can also signal what a risk these companies are and start bigger trends to move money
towards other investments. But divestment is really about taking away the social license of these
companies. Like tobacco. In the same way, it shouldn’t be okay for people to be funding fossil fuel
companies or supporting policies that keep expanding the fossil fuel industry.
9. Has anyone already divested? This movement started a couple years ago, by students! Over 400
schools have divestment campaigns, and 13 have already divested. Also some foundations, individuals,
and religious institutions. Many city governments, like mayors and councils, have committed to pursuing
divestment in their cities - but so far no pension boards have agreed. We hope to make New York City the
first!