VANCOUVER, B.C. – City Councillor Adriane Carr’s motion asking staff to report back on options and timelines for the City of Vancouver to fully divest from fossil fuels passed unanimously at today’s city council meeting after an amendment was passed that removed section "D" from the original motion. 

The vote comes less than a week after C40 released, “Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in Our Future: A Toolkit for Cities.” The guide, based on case studies on divestment efforts of major cities around the world, showed that none of the city pension funds which have already divested suffered a negative impact; some cities saw an improved performance.

“I’m grateful to Council for passing this motion,” said Carr. “And I’m thankful to C40 for their recent report showing that divestment does not have a negative financial impact on cities’ investment portfolios. 

“This is not just about taking a stand; investments in oil & gas are becoming increasingly risky assets to hold. We now have both a moral and fiduciary responsibility to divest from them. It would be absurd for us to be investing in industries which contribute to the climate crisis we are working so hard to avert.

“Cities have a critical role to play in the fight against global warming. Divestment is an important piece of that work because it brings public awareness to the issue and tangibly affects change by moving funds from the companies that are profiting from harming our planet to companies such as in the renewable energy sector that are part of the solution. 

“I’m hopeful that the C40 toolkit will help expedite this work in our city. The most recent reports out of the UN call for reductions in global emissions of 7.6 percent every year for the next decade in order to hold to the necessary maximum of 1.5° rise in global temperature.

“We are in a crisis. We need to be doing everything we can as quickly as we can in order to protect our planet and the next generation,” concluded Carr. 

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More Information:

Motion: City of Vancouver Responsible Divestment from Fossil Fuels