So far, 436 institutions and 2,040 individuals representing $2.6 trillion in assets have agreed to sell their fossil fuel investments, according to a review by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant that works with philanthropies. It represents a 50-fold increase from a year ago, when the divestment totals were 181 institutions and 656 individuals representing more than $50 billion in assets.
"This is just stunning and shows the real strength for this momentum for change," Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in a recorded video shown at a press conference Tuesday. Figueres said divestment is critical to keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, forestalling the most catastrophic effects of climate change, while making the transition to clean energy sources.
The divestment event was part of Climate Week, a series of climate-related events and announcements in New York. Now in its seventh year, this Climate Week will include meetings on climate resiliency, clean energy and the Paris climate treaty negotiations. On Friday, United Nations member states will adopt a new global development strategy through 2030 aimed at fighting poverty, inequality and climate change. The climate is also expected to be a focus of Pope Francis’s first visit to the U.S. this week.
New pledges were also announced at the divestment event. Most notably, Leonardo DiCaprio, an award-winning Hollywood actor and environment advocate, plans to shed fossil fuels from both his personal assets and those held by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
Read more at Fossil Fuel Divestment Has Grown to $2.6 Trillion in Assets
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