LONDON, Jan 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The mayors of New York City and London have urged other cities to divest their pension funds from fossil fuel producers, as they introduced a toolkit to help cities shift investments away from companies that drive climate change.
New York City said in January 2018 that over five years it would remove fossil fuel investments from its public pension funds, which then had $189 billion in assets under management. London Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to do so in his 2016 election campaign.
Investors with $11 trillion in assets under management have pledged to divest from fossil fuels, campaign group 350.org said in a September report.
“We need all cities to act now to help protect our planet for future generations,” Khan said in a statement, which accompanied an advice guide for other cities on how to alter their pension investments.
It contained case studies of disinvestment efforts in Melbourne, Berlin and Stockholm as well as New York and London. “I’m calling on every major city in the world to follow suit,” the mayor said, noting that “taking action on divestment is not only achievable but absolutely necessary”.
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