UCS Supports Fossil Fuel Divestment

 

 

Statement by Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 18, 2014) — In advance of the UN Climate Summit in New York City next week, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued the following statement from President Ken Kimmell.

“Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity. To address global warming, we need to significantly reduce heat-trapping carbon emissions—and that means moving away from oil and coal now, and over time from natural gas. We encourage businesses, universities, nonprofits and other organization to divest from fossil fuel companies to help speed the advancement of clean energy to curb climate change.

 “UCS doesn’t have any direct investments in fossil fuel companies. Like many Americans, we invest in large managed index funds to reduce our financial risk. Our board investment committee has been working to move our resources into ‘sustainability funds’ and found that even those funds do not necessarily screen out all fossil fuel companies. As a result, fossil fuel companies accounted for less than 5 percent of our total investments before we began looking at divesting.

“The UCS Board has directed our investment committee to determine how best to divest more fully from fossil fuels, and they have already begun moving a large portion of our investments into fossil free investments and will continue to do so. We are committed to continuing working with our investment committee to map our progress toward divestment on an annual basis.”

 

The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.