R Kym Horsell
2015-06-05 16:03:17 UTC
As they say in the cartoons:
Five... Four... Three... Two... One...
DUMP COAL!
With Big Fossil e100 bn down in value more divestment to follow.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/science/norway-in-push-against-climate-chan
ge-will-divest-from-coal.html?_r=0>
Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change
John Schwartz
05 Jun 2015
NY Times
<http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/06/06/science/06DIVEST-1433515494565/06DI
VEST-1433515494565-master675.jpg>
Cornel West speaking at a protest in April calling for Harvard
University to divest its fossil fuel stocks. On Friday, Norway's
parliament ordered its government pension fund to sell many of its
coal-related investments.
RELATED:
* Norwegian Oil is coming under pressure for the environmental damage
caused by the oil and gas it produces. Norwegians Turn Ambivalent on
Statoil, Their Economic Bedrock -- Dec. 30, 2014
* In its research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
adjusted past data to account for new insights. Global Warming
`Hiatus' Challenged by NOAA Research -- June 4, 2015
Norway's $890 billion government pension fund, considered the largest
sovereign wealth fund in the world, will sell off many of its
investments related to coal, making it the biggest institution yet to
join a growing international movement to abandon at least some fossil
fuel stocks.
Parliament voted Friday to order the fund to shift its holdings out of
billions of dollars of stock in companies whose businesses rely at
least 30 percent on coal. A committee vote last week made Friday's
decision all but a formality; it will take effect next year.
The decision is certain to add momentum to a push to divest fossil
fuel stocks that emerged three years ago on college campuses. The
Church of England announced last month that it would drop companies
involved with coal or oil sands from its $14 billion investment fund,
and the French insurer AXA said it would cut some $560 million in
coal-related investments from its portfolio.
Members of the Rockefeller family, whose fortune derives from Standard
Oil, also pledged last year to remove fossil fuel investments,
beginning with coal, from their philanthropic Rockefeller Brothers
Fund.
There is no question that the decision by various funds to sell fossil
fuel stocks has little or no impact on the vast market capitalization
of most companies. For that reason, the divestment movement has long
been dismissed by many institutions, especially oil companies, as
symbolic.
But divestment decisions from funds like Norway's are important
because they require, as a first step, discussions that once seemed
taboo, said Bob Massie, a longtime climate activist and a founder of
the Investor Network on Climate Risk, an organization of institutional
investors affiliated with the business environmental group Ceres.
"It lays the groundwork for the transformation of cultural and
political views in a major topic that people would rather avoid," he
said. "This requires people to say, `What are we going to do? What are
our choices? What do we believe in?'"
Mr. Massie, who was deeply involved during the 1980s in the South
African divestment movement and who wrote a well-regarded history of
it, said that in both cases, "There's a mysterious process by which an
`unthinkable, ridiculous' proposition becomes `possible.'"
Divesting from the economically battered coal industry is a more
selective move than a broad action against all fossil fuels, of
course. But Jamie Henn, a co-founder of 350.org, a group that has
promoted divestment, said that coal was the most environmentally
damaging fossil fuel, and that the various divestment decisions "send
a clear political signal that we think will hasten the industry's
inevitable decline - and push governments to take broader action."
Marthe Skaar, a spokeswoman for Norges Bank Investment Management,
which manages the huge Norwegian fund, said its goal was "safeguarding
and building financial wealth for future generations in Norway." Its
reasons for divesting include "long-established climate-change
risk-management expectations," she said.
The fund's 30 percent threshold for divestment applies to whether a
company's business is based on coal, as in mining companies, or the
percentage of its revenue that comes from coal. The second category
would include power companies that burn coal.
Norway's decision underscores its ambivalence about fossil fuels. The
fund itself is nicknamed the "oil fund" because its wealth comes from
the nation's oil and gas revenues. But proponents of the move say that
it helps prevent Norway from compounding the environmental damage that
its own production causes by investing in environmentally destructive
companies.
Truls Gulowsen, the head of Greenpeace Norway, called his country's
decision "a great first step" that showed his nation now understood
that it was "nonsense to use oil money to invest in coal." Now the
nation must further understand "the nonsense of investing oil money in
more oil," he added.
Svein Flatten, a member of Parliament from the Conservative Party,
said that lawmakers acted because investments in coal companies have
"both financial risks and climate risks." He added, however, that this
was not a step toward any other action. "The fund shall not be, and
they really are not, a tool for political purposes," he said.
Many institutions have pushed back against the divestment
movement. Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard, has stated that
while climate change is an important issue, the university can address
it through research, education and its own practices, and that
dropping fossil fuel investments is not "warranted or wise." The
endowment, she has said, should not be used "to impel social or
political change." Middlebury College, where 350.org founder Bill
McKibben teaches, has also resisted student pressure to divest.
David W. Oxtoby, the president of Pomona College in California,
opposes divestment. He said in an interview that schools and
institutions that announce divestment decisions often do so in
symbolic moves with no real sacrifice or change of policy.
"We actually don't have any investments in coal, but to make an
announcement of that type didn't seem terribly useful," he
said. Dr. Oxtoby, a climate researcher, called the divestment activism
a distraction from efforts that could bring about real change, such as
getting government to tax oil and gas to reduce consumption.
Norway's decision, Dr. Oxtoby said, is similarly symbolic - especially
when compared with the kind of commitment that might involve leaving
significant portions of the nation's oil and gas reserves untapped.
The business trends that have made coal an undesirable investment will
ultimately humble oil and gas companies as well, Mr. Massie said. He
cited research suggesting that limiting the increase in global
temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) to avert
some of the worst outcomes of climate change will require leaving much
of today's fuel reserves unburned.
Those "stranded assets," he argued, will be a financial burden on the
companies. The oil industry has roundly rejected the stranded-asset
hypothesis, however.
Those who resist calls for divestment often say they prefer to pursue
a strategy of engagement with fossil fuel companies, which means using
their influence as investors to encourage companies to alter their
policies.
"The choice of whether to divest or not is good," said Geeta B. Aiyer,
the founder of Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm with
a focus on sustainability, "but it's only the beginning." She said
that engaging with companies across the board could help bring about a
future with lower levels of carbon emissions.
Mr. Massie said he was skeptical that working with the oil industry
companies would lead to any major changes in their strategy or
policies. "The results are not likely to be substantial," he
said. "And we have run out of time."
Bevis Longstreth, a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange
Commission under President Ronald Reagan who has become a divestment
activist, said that the most compelling part of Norway's decision was
dropping stocks of companies that burn a significant amount of
coal. That, he said, is "a really big deal" that could push companies
to shift the mixture of their power generation.
He added that his participation in the divestment fight might seem odd
given that he was rooted for so long in the financial establishment.
"Am I crazy? No. I'm an advocate," he said. "And I've got nine grandchildren."
--
Canada's first tornado of the year confirmed in Ontario
[Number of Canadian tornadoes have been on the rise over past decade].
The Weather Network, 04 Jun 2015 22:20Z
Canada's first tornado of the year has been confirmed by Environment Canada.
The agency has verified that an EF-1 touched down in southern Ontario just
northeast of the city of London, Ont.
Coal played a part in 'big five' energy firms losing e100bn in share value
The Guardian, 05 Jun 2015 05:20Z
... to capitalise on new business opportunities in the distribution and
services provision sectors. "I think there will be a substantial number of
stranded assets," he told the Guardian, "although I also think many of the
utilities will only have ...
'Whirling Mass': Hail, Tornadoes, Floods Batter Colorado
NBCNews.com, 05 Jun 2015 13:34Z
Hail the size of grapefruit, heavy rainfall, and multiple tornadoes caused
damage and flooding across parts of the Rockies and Plains overnight into
Fri, officials and meteorologists said.
New Fed data shows global warming not stopping or slowing
CBS News, 05 Jun 2015 14:35Z
Those claims have resonated; two years ago, the United Nation's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change felt the need to explain why the
Earth was not heating up as expected, listing such reasons as volcanic
eruptions, reduced solar radiation and the ...
Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change
New York Times, 05 Jun 2015 14:35Z
Norway's $890 billion government pension fund, considered the largest
sovereign wealth fund in the world, will sell off many of its investments
related to coal, making it the biggest institution yet to join a growing
international movement to abandon ...
Blanca to Threaten Baja California Sur Late This Weekend
AccuWeather.com, 05 Jun 2015 14:41Z
These areas suffered widespread damage after Hurricane Odile made landfall
across the region last year. While paling in comparison to Odile at landfall,
Blanca will still threaten Baja California Sur with torrential rainfall,
dangerous surf and locally ...
Evacuation order issued as Red River threatens Arkansas town
seattlepi.com, 05 Jun 2015 15:33Z
Five... Four... Three... Two... One...
DUMP COAL!
With Big Fossil e100 bn down in value more divestment to follow.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/science/norway-in-push-against-climate-chan
ge-will-divest-from-coal.html?_r=0>
Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change
John Schwartz
05 Jun 2015
NY Times
<http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/06/06/science/06DIVEST-1433515494565/06DI
VEST-1433515494565-master675.jpg>
Cornel West speaking at a protest in April calling for Harvard
University to divest its fossil fuel stocks. On Friday, Norway's
parliament ordered its government pension fund to sell many of its
coal-related investments.
RELATED:
* Norwegian Oil is coming under pressure for the environmental damage
caused by the oil and gas it produces. Norwegians Turn Ambivalent on
Statoil, Their Economic Bedrock -- Dec. 30, 2014
* In its research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
adjusted past data to account for new insights. Global Warming
`Hiatus' Challenged by NOAA Research -- June 4, 2015
Norway's $890 billion government pension fund, considered the largest
sovereign wealth fund in the world, will sell off many of its
investments related to coal, making it the biggest institution yet to
join a growing international movement to abandon at least some fossil
fuel stocks.
Parliament voted Friday to order the fund to shift its holdings out of
billions of dollars of stock in companies whose businesses rely at
least 30 percent on coal. A committee vote last week made Friday's
decision all but a formality; it will take effect next year.
The decision is certain to add momentum to a push to divest fossil
fuel stocks that emerged three years ago on college campuses. The
Church of England announced last month that it would drop companies
involved with coal or oil sands from its $14 billion investment fund,
and the French insurer AXA said it would cut some $560 million in
coal-related investments from its portfolio.
Members of the Rockefeller family, whose fortune derives from Standard
Oil, also pledged last year to remove fossil fuel investments,
beginning with coal, from their philanthropic Rockefeller Brothers
Fund.
There is no question that the decision by various funds to sell fossil
fuel stocks has little or no impact on the vast market capitalization
of most companies. For that reason, the divestment movement has long
been dismissed by many institutions, especially oil companies, as
symbolic.
But divestment decisions from funds like Norway's are important
because they require, as a first step, discussions that once seemed
taboo, said Bob Massie, a longtime climate activist and a founder of
the Investor Network on Climate Risk, an organization of institutional
investors affiliated with the business environmental group Ceres.
"It lays the groundwork for the transformation of cultural and
political views in a major topic that people would rather avoid," he
said. "This requires people to say, `What are we going to do? What are
our choices? What do we believe in?'"
Mr. Massie, who was deeply involved during the 1980s in the South
African divestment movement and who wrote a well-regarded history of
it, said that in both cases, "There's a mysterious process by which an
`unthinkable, ridiculous' proposition becomes `possible.'"
Divesting from the economically battered coal industry is a more
selective move than a broad action against all fossil fuels, of
course. But Jamie Henn, a co-founder of 350.org, a group that has
promoted divestment, said that coal was the most environmentally
damaging fossil fuel, and that the various divestment decisions "send
a clear political signal that we think will hasten the industry's
inevitable decline - and push governments to take broader action."
Marthe Skaar, a spokeswoman for Norges Bank Investment Management,
which manages the huge Norwegian fund, said its goal was "safeguarding
and building financial wealth for future generations in Norway." Its
reasons for divesting include "long-established climate-change
risk-management expectations," she said.
The fund's 30 percent threshold for divestment applies to whether a
company's business is based on coal, as in mining companies, or the
percentage of its revenue that comes from coal. The second category
would include power companies that burn coal.
Norway's decision underscores its ambivalence about fossil fuels. The
fund itself is nicknamed the "oil fund" because its wealth comes from
the nation's oil and gas revenues. But proponents of the move say that
it helps prevent Norway from compounding the environmental damage that
its own production causes by investing in environmentally destructive
companies.
Truls Gulowsen, the head of Greenpeace Norway, called his country's
decision "a great first step" that showed his nation now understood
that it was "nonsense to use oil money to invest in coal." Now the
nation must further understand "the nonsense of investing oil money in
more oil," he added.
Svein Flatten, a member of Parliament from the Conservative Party,
said that lawmakers acted because investments in coal companies have
"both financial risks and climate risks." He added, however, that this
was not a step toward any other action. "The fund shall not be, and
they really are not, a tool for political purposes," he said.
Many institutions have pushed back against the divestment
movement. Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard, has stated that
while climate change is an important issue, the university can address
it through research, education and its own practices, and that
dropping fossil fuel investments is not "warranted or wise." The
endowment, she has said, should not be used "to impel social or
political change." Middlebury College, where 350.org founder Bill
McKibben teaches, has also resisted student pressure to divest.
David W. Oxtoby, the president of Pomona College in California,
opposes divestment. He said in an interview that schools and
institutions that announce divestment decisions often do so in
symbolic moves with no real sacrifice or change of policy.
"We actually don't have any investments in coal, but to make an
announcement of that type didn't seem terribly useful," he
said. Dr. Oxtoby, a climate researcher, called the divestment activism
a distraction from efforts that could bring about real change, such as
getting government to tax oil and gas to reduce consumption.
Norway's decision, Dr. Oxtoby said, is similarly symbolic - especially
when compared with the kind of commitment that might involve leaving
significant portions of the nation's oil and gas reserves untapped.
The business trends that have made coal an undesirable investment will
ultimately humble oil and gas companies as well, Mr. Massie said. He
cited research suggesting that limiting the increase in global
temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) to avert
some of the worst outcomes of climate change will require leaving much
of today's fuel reserves unburned.
Those "stranded assets," he argued, will be a financial burden on the
companies. The oil industry has roundly rejected the stranded-asset
hypothesis, however.
Those who resist calls for divestment often say they prefer to pursue
a strategy of engagement with fossil fuel companies, which means using
their influence as investors to encourage companies to alter their
policies.
"The choice of whether to divest or not is good," said Geeta B. Aiyer,
the founder of Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm with
a focus on sustainability, "but it's only the beginning." She said
that engaging with companies across the board could help bring about a
future with lower levels of carbon emissions.
Mr. Massie said he was skeptical that working with the oil industry
companies would lead to any major changes in their strategy or
policies. "The results are not likely to be substantial," he
said. "And we have run out of time."
Bevis Longstreth, a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange
Commission under President Ronald Reagan who has become a divestment
activist, said that the most compelling part of Norway's decision was
dropping stocks of companies that burn a significant amount of
coal. That, he said, is "a really big deal" that could push companies
to shift the mixture of their power generation.
He added that his participation in the divestment fight might seem odd
given that he was rooted for so long in the financial establishment.
"Am I crazy? No. I'm an advocate," he said. "And I've got nine grandchildren."
--
Canada's first tornado of the year confirmed in Ontario
[Number of Canadian tornadoes have been on the rise over past decade].
The Weather Network, 04 Jun 2015 22:20Z
Canada's first tornado of the year has been confirmed by Environment Canada.
The agency has verified that an EF-1 touched down in southern Ontario just
northeast of the city of London, Ont.
Coal played a part in 'big five' energy firms losing e100bn in share value
The Guardian, 05 Jun 2015 05:20Z
... to capitalise on new business opportunities in the distribution and
services provision sectors. "I think there will be a substantial number of
stranded assets," he told the Guardian, "although I also think many of the
utilities will only have ...
'Whirling Mass': Hail, Tornadoes, Floods Batter Colorado
NBCNews.com, 05 Jun 2015 13:34Z
Hail the size of grapefruit, heavy rainfall, and multiple tornadoes caused
damage and flooding across parts of the Rockies and Plains overnight into
Fri, officials and meteorologists said.
New Fed data shows global warming not stopping or slowing
CBS News, 05 Jun 2015 14:35Z
Those claims have resonated; two years ago, the United Nation's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change felt the need to explain why the
Earth was not heating up as expected, listing such reasons as volcanic
eruptions, reduced solar radiation and the ...
Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change
New York Times, 05 Jun 2015 14:35Z
Norway's $890 billion government pension fund, considered the largest
sovereign wealth fund in the world, will sell off many of its investments
related to coal, making it the biggest institution yet to join a growing
international movement to abandon ...
Blanca to Threaten Baja California Sur Late This Weekend
AccuWeather.com, 05 Jun 2015 14:41Z
These areas suffered widespread damage after Hurricane Odile made landfall
across the region last year. While paling in comparison to Odile at landfall,
Blanca will still threaten Baja California Sur with torrential rainfall,
dangerous surf and locally ...
Evacuation order issued as Red River threatens Arkansas town
seattlepi.com, 05 Jun 2015 15:33Z