Oil and gas companies must rapidly adapt to declining long-term demand or they will face stark financial consequences, asset management giants warn.
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In his influential annual letter to chief executives, Mr. Fink said his firm would avoid investments in companies that “present a high sustainability-related risk.”
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On January 6, 2020 KDNK Community Radio published a segment on Fossil Free PERA’s efforts, the history of the coalition and the recently released Corporate Knights study highlighting PERA’s financial losses from not divesting from fossil fuels 10 years ago.
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Fossil Free PERA members met with PERA Director, CIO and Staff in Fall, 2019. The following post chronicles communications between Fossil Free PERA and PERA Staff.
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New studies conducted by media and analysis firm Corporate Knights show that PERA lost over $1.77B by not divesting from fossil fuels. The study was delivered to PERA Monday, November 4th.
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Obligation of impartiality requires investment managers to divest.
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In summer, 2019 Fossil Free PERA is commissioning a study with Corporate Knights which will undertake a 10-year analysis of PERA’s fossil fuel investments.
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It is in investors’ best interests — and therefore consistent with fiduciary duty — to actively support the low-carbon transition to avoid scenarios with the worst physical damages.
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A month after Mayor Michael Hancock announced that the City and County of Denver planned to dump its investments in fossil fuel companies, the divestment process is finished.
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For over a century, fossil fuels have been more than just the world's primary energy source; they've been a bedrock of the global financial system, an engine of economic growth and a safe investment for governments, pension funds, charitable endowments and other institutions around the world. If we hope to stop climate change before its effects become catastrophic, that will inevitably have to change — and many climate activists want it to change as soon as possible.
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Colorado’s $53bn public pension fund PERA avoids climate-risks bill in state legislature. It would have required fund to hire third-party for climate-risk assessment. Read on for Responsible Investor’s coverage of the bill.
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As the effects of climate change become more prominent, they will become more and more visible in financial statements, says IASB's chair. The following is a speech given on Tuesday, April 2 by Hans Hoogervorst, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board, at the Climate-Related Financial Reporting Conference in Cambridge, U.K.
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A new bill was introduced in the House this week: HB19-1270 - ‘PERA Board Assess Climate-related Financial Risks.’ This bill places a requirement that the board of trustees of the public employees' retirement association take certain actions in connection with climate-related financial risks to the various trust funds managed by the association.
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Norway has decided to have its sovereign wealth fund divest from all upstream oil and gas holdings. The Norwegian Central Bank, which manages the $1 trillion fund, recommended this move back in November 2017, but the official decision was made March 8, 2019.
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According to a report issued in 2018 by Arabella Advisors, a philanthropy services firm, 61 pension funds worldwide — including the New York City pension funds, which hold $189 billion in assets — have committed to divesting from fossil fuels since 2016, bringing the total number of pension funds that have joined the movement to 144. Some research indicates that fossil fuel-free investments could offer better returns than conventional ones, though other experts say that fund performance will depend on a variety of market factors.
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Our East Coast neighbors are proving that pensions and the the planet have a shared mutual interest in making the fossil fuel industry history. Below we share their announcement and webinar for other pension managers to follow suit.
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In 2018, the PERA Board spent nine months considering the topic of divestment and seeking input from fiduciary counsel, investment consultants, and PERA staff, as well as hearing from members and retirees. At the January 2019 Board of Trustees Meeting, the Trustees adopted a Statement on Divestment. Read on for more information.
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2019 expectation is for more investment with lower returns. One cannot minimize the impact of the overall year-end market decline on energy sector stocks, which went down along with every other sector. For example, Apple’s market cap declined from $1.1 trillion in June to $750 billion at the end of the year. That loss alone is more than the current market cap of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil and gas producer.
The bottom line: for the second straight year, the stock performance of the energy sector was at or near the bottom of the S&P 500 – and in 2018, it was solidly in last place.
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