What is fossil fuels divestment?

As many of us work to limit the damage of human-caused climate change, gas and oil companies are still planning to invest trillions of dollars in new oil and gas extraction projects. The completion of these projects could be disastrous.

Fossil fuel divestment is an attempt to combat climate change by reducing the financing of oil and gas projects. It has been particularly effective when targeted at universities and municipalities. Please see the fossil fuel divestment wikipedia page for a full description.

How can I get involved?

Do a web search to find out if an organization exists to lobby for divestment of the endowment fund of your alma mater. For instance, the Stanford University divestment movement is coordinated from this twitter account. Supporters can send an email to the President of Stanford (see guidelines).

You can also lobby the pension board of your local community. Oakland is already divested from fossil fuels and San Francisco is working to follow suit. To lobby for San Francisco to do the same, you can coordinate with your local chapter of 350.org.