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Cape Town – Global commitments to divest from fossil fuels doubled in 2016, the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment and Clean Energy Investment Movement report revealed on Monday.
The Divest-Invest network released the report exactly one year after world governments reached the Paris agreement on climate change.
The report shows that 688 institutions across 76 countries, representing R68.61trn in assets under management, divested from fossil fuels between September 2015 and 2016.
“As we enter the final weeks of 2016, the hottest year in history, the success of the divestment movement is undeniable,” said 350.org director May Boeve in a statement.
“In the face of intensifying climate impacts, and regressive and anti-climate governments like the Trump administration, it’s more critical than ever that our institutions - especially at the local level - step up to break free from fossil fuel companies.”
Five days ahead of the release of this report, campaigners with Divest Nobel released a letter signed by 17 Nobel laureates around the world, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, calling on the Nobel Foundation to act in Alfred Nobel’s will and divest from fossil fuels.
They called on the Nobel Foundation to align its investments with its principles and mission by:
1. Immediately stopping any new investments in companies who derive more than 5% of their revenue from coal, oil and gas.
2. Dropping coal, oil and gas from its investment portfolio by divesting from these fossil fuel companies within five years.
3. Publicly communicating the foundation’s commitment and regularly reporting on implementation of its progress.
4. Committing to and prioritising reinvesting the majority of its portfolio into climate solutions that support renewable energy, clean energy access and energy efficiency, and community adaptation and resiliency.
Several press events took place across the globe to showcase the milestone. Campaigners in Cape Town held a press conference on Monday featuring the Anglican Church of South Africa who recently committed to divest.
“Our institutions and society know that we need a rapid and just shift away from the fossil fuel economy,” said Yossi Cadan, 350.org global senior divestment campaigner. “But many institutions are moving far too slowly. That’s why we will take action around the world in May 2017 through global mobilisations to shine a spotlight on the impacts of the fossil fuel industry, and escalate the call for governments and institutions to divest.”
WATCH: The Paris Agreement on Climate Change in a nutshell
The Paris Agreement saw 179 countries and the EU agree to keep global temperature increase well below 2oC and if possible, below 1.5oC.
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