Tag: sustainable-investing

August 27, 2020

The Divestment Movement

Will Fossil Fuel Divestment Usher in a New Era of Sustainable Growth?   By Melanie Mason   The fossil fuel divestment movement is gaining momentum as a large scale energy transition is underway. Over the past 5 years, major players have begun to divest from the fossil fuel industry and many financial analysts and environmentalists approve: not only is this the financially-savvy thing to do, it could play a major role in climate change mitigation and the shift to sustainable energy.   In 2011, passionate Swarthmore College students kicked off the very first fossil fuel divestment campaign in the United States, urging Swarthmore’s endowment to divest from coal immediately, and from oil and gas within 5 years. In 2012, environmentalist Bill McKibben and 350.org launched the Do the Math Tour, traveling around the world urging all institutions to divest from fossil fuels. In the years that followed, college students, activists, and environmental organizations held up bold signs, protested in the streets and on campuses, and spoke to huge audiences about the importance of the divestment movement. (more…)