Oakland City Attorney comes out in strong support of SB 252, California’s fossil fuel divestment bill

Collage graphic. Across a photo of an Oakland City building is screenshot of a headline that reads, "Opinion: Divest California public employee pensions from fossil fuels. Ending CalPERS and CalSTRS funding of this industry is critical to meet local, national and international goals." At right is a headshot of Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker.

Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker’s op-ed reads: “Divesting from fossil fuel companies is the right thing to do to protect California’s frontline and fenceline communities. Due to long legacies of systemic racism, these communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change, climate harm, and pollution. The Legislature must pass SB 252 this year. This bill is both financially prudent and essential to meeting our collective climate goals.”

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Oakland City Attorney comes out in strong support of SB 252, California’s fossil fuel divestment bill

Collage graphic. Across a photo of an Oakland City building is screenshot of a headline that reads, "Opinion: Divest California public employee pensions from fossil fuels. Ending CalPERS and CalSTRS funding of this industry is critical to meet local, national and international goals." At right is a headshot of Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker.

Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker’s op-ed reads: “Divesting from fossil fuel companies is the right thing to do to protect California’s frontline and fenceline communities. Due to long legacies of systemic racism, these communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change, climate harm, and pollution. The Legislature must pass SB 252 this year. This bill is both financially prudent and essential to meeting our collective climate goals.”

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Financial outcomes from divesting from fossil fuels

Photo that shows a closeup of a person's hands stacking coins in increasingly larger stacks, with seedlings on top of each stack.

Screening out fossil fuel stocks has not had a significant impact on returns for global, well-diversified portfolios — in fact over the past 12 years, an index without fossil fuels outperformed its most similar index with fossil fuels, and two separate studies by found that divestment actions taken by funds worldwide have passed the prudence tests required of fiduciaries. An additional academic study spanning decades that included previous oil price spikes found no significant difference in performance between portfolios with and without fossil fuels.

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