The mayor of Seattle congratulates the ANU on divesting from fossil fuels Mike McGinn ABC Environment 18 Dec 2014 ANU share advertisement The advertisement supporting the ANUs decision was backed by prominent leaders and business people. See also Related Story: Profiting from the wreckage of our planet Bill McKibben 12 Jun 2013 Related Story: ANU selling out of resources Lateline 8 Oct 2014 Related Story: Education Minister Christopher Pyne describes ANU decision to ditch mining company investments as bizarre News Online 13 Oct 2014 Related Story: ANU decision to sell fossil fuel company holdings not enough: students News Online 3 Oct 2014 Related Story: Energy specialist says fossil fuel divestment campaign not having any impact as ANU sells one per cent of its equities ABC Rural 7 Oct 2014 Related Story: Pr Ian Young, ANU, on plans to divest mining and resources shares and equities ABC Rural 7 Oct 2014 Related Story: Sandfire Resources says it has no choice but to pursue ANU over erroneous statements it is a poor environmental and social operator ABC Rural 8 Oct 2014 Related Story: Australian National University dumps mining stocks as global divestment campaign focused on universities starts to gain traction in Australia ABC Rural 7 Oct 2014 Related Story: Anti-fossil fuel activists back student group Fossil Free ANU which it says is mostly responsible for Australian National University divesting minin ABC Rural 9 Oct 2014 Related Story: Divestment is just the free market at work News Online 15 Oct 2014 Related Story: ANU simply playing politics with investments News Online 15 Oct 2014 Related Story: We shouldnt fund your progressive values News Online 16 Oct 2014 Related Story: Why are people divesting from fossil fuels? Life Matters 16 Oct 2014 Related Story: Preventing a carbon bubble crash Simon Copland 13 May 2013 Related Story: Whos the ugliest in the beauty contest? Sara Phillips 13 Jun 2013 Comments (7) The mayor of the first city in the world to divest from fossil fuels has applauded the Australian National University for showing the same foresight. SOMETIMES THE BEST measure of a movements momentum is the reaction of its critics. When, in early October, the Australian National University announced that it would sell its shares in seven fossil-fuel and mining companies, it triggered a chorus of criticism from conservative politicians. These nominal champions of the free market were quick to tell the university what it should do with its money. The Treasurer, Joe Hockey, disparaged the ANUs decision as being removed from reality. Others chimed in, calling it a disgrace, very strange, and narrow-minded and irresponsible. Never mind that the sums involved were relatively small — making up less than two per cent of the universitys estimated $1 billion portfolio. As the drive to divest from fossil fuels picks up speed, such panicky responses are becoming increasingly common. The outrage of Australias politicians reminds me of the reaction I received when I testified before the US Congress in 2013 that we should keep our coal in the ground where it belongs. David McKinley, a Republican congressman from West Virginia, in the heart of Americas coal country, replied that my words sent a shiver up [his] spine, then changed the subject to the crime rate in Seattle, where I was Mayor. Even ExxonMobil appears shaken. The company recently published a long, defensive blog post responding to what it described as a full-throated endorsement of fossil-fuel divestment by Mary Robinson, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons special envoy for climate change. The fossil-fuel industry clearly sees the divestment movement as the political threat that it is. When enough people say no to investing in fossil-fuel production, the next step has to be keeping coal, oil, and gas in the ground. That is a necessary step if we are to head off the most dangerous consequences of climate change. To prevent world temperatures from rising above the 2° Celsius threshold that climate scientists believe represents a tipping point beyond which the worst effects could no longer be mitigated, we will need to leave approximately 80 per cent of known fossil-fuel reserves untapped. Oil and coal companies and their political allies warn us of fiscal catastrophe if we do that — as if heat waves, droughts, storms, and rising seas did not bring their own fiscal and social catastrophes. As Mayor of Seattle, I supported the creation of energy-efficient buildings, the development of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, and a shift toward walking, biking, and public transit as alternatives to driving — strategies that can help to build a more resilient economy and provide viable alternatives to fossil fuels. But they cannot prevent the worst of global warming, particularly if they result in coal and oil simply being sold elsewhere. As imperfect as our governance systems are, at some point the public and its leaders may demand that we confront the truth about global warming. At that point, they will put in place the regulatory or legal controls needed to reduce fossil-fuel use dramatically. If you are a prudent and cautious investor, contemplate that possibility for a moment. Stock values in the fossil-fuel industry — which are based on the assumption that companies will be able to extract and burn all known reserves — will plummet. Investing in these companies, it turns out, is extraordinarily risky. As anyone who receives investment statements knows, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. That reality implies another compelling case for divestment. To be sure, some will claim that the world will never change and that we will continue to depend on fossil fuels forever. But one has only to look to Seattle, where gay couples marry in City Hall and marijuana is sold in licensed retail outlets, to see the human capacity to reexamine deeply held assumptions. The prudent investor, and the wise business leader, will look where the economy is headed, not where it has been. The ANUs decision looks like a sage one to anyone not in thrall to oil and gas companies, and it will only look wiser with the passing of time. Good on them. When I put Seattle on the path to divestment in 2013, my decision was well received by the young people who will have to live with the consequences of global warming, as well as the general public. As the political pressure mounts, the universitys administrators need only listen to the students. We need more courage like that shown by the ANU. Its leaders bucked the power of coal and oil interests, which wield enormous power in Australia. If they can do it to popular acclaim, others can, too. Mike McGinn is a former mayor of Seattle, the first city to commit to divestment from fossil fuels.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:21:36 +0000