Bill McKibbon and the group 350.org are campaigning for big investors like university endowment funds to remove their investments from the fossil fuel sector (companies that sell, transport or profit from oil, coal and gas).
The logic is that divestment was one of the approaches that helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. According to the British newspaper The Guardian the fossil fuel divestment campaign is growing faster than any previous divestment campaign. - UPDATE now The Guardian has thrown it's weight behind the campaign.
Oil, coal and gas companies have historically been profitable so it is often hard to convince investment managers to pull investment out of fossil fuels. Even the 350.org campaign suggests divestment take place over several years.
The idea of a “carbon bubble” has begun to circulate in the world of finance. The idea is that if people do find a way to address climate change it may mean that a substantial portion of declared reserves of oil, coal, and gas companies will never be dug out of the ground and sold. This will effectively make these reserves “stranded assets” which will need to be written off by fossil fuel companies. In such a scenario you divesting from fossil fuels may actually be a prudent way to avoid investment risk.
McKibbon says if it’s wrong to wreck the environment then it’s wrong to profit from the wrecking of the environment.
If you have investments consider whether they are in oil, coal and gas industries. If you have a pension plan or are part of an institution that manages a cash reserve, check out whether they are invested in fossil fuel companies.
One great local initiative where you can reinvest those divested funds is the Ottawa Renewable Energy Coop - OREC. It takes local people's investments and plows them into solar panels and such also in Ottawa, from which financial returns are generated by sales of the green electricity generated back into the grid. They've raised millions from local coop members and are already producing both green energy and investor returns.
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Members of ECCC invited to webinar on incineration
On April 8, we invited members of City Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) to attend a webinar on incineration. This webinar is timely: Council is considering incineration as an option for dealing with Ottawa’s waste, since staff has warned Council that the Trail Road Landfill—which currently receives the majority of Ottawans’ garbage—will fill up soon.
Ecology Ottawa Delegates on 2023 Climate Change Spending
Ecology Ottawa attended City Council's Environment and Climate Change committee meeting on March 19 to delegate about a staff report about 2023 spending on the Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP).
All in all, we were impressed: City staff had only $5 million to work with—yet they turned this into 26 different initiatives.
Ottawa Eco Awards 2024 - Open for Nominations!
Pour le français, cliquez ici.
In celebration of Earth Day 2024, we at Ecology Ottawa are highlighting the people, places, plants, trees, and animals of Ottawa that inspire our communities to take action, find innovative solutions, and work together to protect our environment. We call on you to nominate members of your community that work hard and inspire others to create change!