First, the Church of England fleshes out plans for fossil fuel divestment. That was amazing news. But now Ireland has passed a bill that will have the country sell their more than €300m shares of fossil fuel investments including coal, oil, peat, and gas ‘as soon as practicable’.
The Guardian reports that Ireland passed the fossil fuel divestment bill in the lower house of parliament and the bill is expected to pass the upper house easily. When the law goes into effect the government will be obligated to sell all investments in fossil fuels.
The fossil fuel divestment movement has picked up steam and is growing at a reassuring pace. The Guardian reports that trillions of dollars of investment funds have been divested, including large pension funds and insurers, cities such as New York, churches, and universities. While there is evidence that divestment can have unintended consequences, with the multitude of institutions divesting, as Sami Grover at Treehugger puts it, “I feel like we are close to reaching a critical mass where divestment is just seen as sound, fiscal management.”
The [divestment] movement is highlighting the need to stop investing in the expansion of a global industry which must be brought into managed decline if catastrophic climate change is to be averted. Ireland by divesting is sending a clear message that the Irish public and the international community are ready to think and act beyond narrow short-term vested interests.” – Thomas Pringle, independent member of parliament who introduced the bill.
Governments will not meet their obligations under the Paris agreement on climate change if they continue to financially sustain the fossil fuel industry. Countries the world over must now urgently follow Ireland’s lead and divest from fossil fuels.” – Gerry Liston at Global Legal Action Network, who drafted the bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hThOpH9Xrdc
