“Instead of having to move cities, let’s move money!”
Ahead of a forum for local leaders from across the globe scheduled for March, Mayors Bill de Blasio of New York and Sadiq Khan of London on Tuesday urged every major city in the world to divest from the fossil fuel industries that are wrecking the planet.
“This toolkit will demonstrate to other cities that taking action on divestment is not only achievable but also essential to investing in our future.”
—London Mayor Sadiq Khan
As part of their global call, the mayors unveiled a toolkit for cities interested in divesting their pension funds from fossil fuels “to help avert climate breakdown.”
Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in Our Future: A Toolkit for Cities (pdf) is a product of C40 Cities, a network of 94 municipalities whose leaders collectively represent over 700 million people and are committed to pursuing actions to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
“By taking Divest/Invest action, mayors around the world can demonstrate their strong climate leadership and signal their support for achieving the crucial 1.5°C goal,” the toolkit says, referencing the Paris accord’s aim to limit global temperature rise this century.
The resource frames fossil fuel divestment and sustainable investment as an important piece of comprehensive strategies to tackle the global climate crisis while also demonstrating the financial benefits with case studies from Berlin, London, Oslo, and Stockholm.
“There is ample evidence that Divest/Invest action on a portfolio level has no negative financial implications—indeed it may even have a positive impact—and can be fully aligned with pension fund trustees’ fiduciary duties,” the executive summary explains.
The toolkit details six key steps that city officials should take to join the global movement: Commit to Divest/Invest; engage the city pension funds; develop and implement policy; monitor progress; communicate progress and engage with external stakeholders; and promote Divest/Invest.