Updates

Información del proyecto de ley del Senado (SB) 252

By Fossil Free California | March 13, 2023

¿Por qué es fundamental apoyar el proyecto de ley SB 252? Ahora, en el 2023, es tiempo de acabar con la contaminación de los combustibles fósiles que destruye nuestras comunidades y contamina nuestro aire, suelo y agua. TE NECESITAMOS para ayudar a aprobar el proyecto de ley SB 252 y desinvertir las pensiones públicas de…

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Photo of founding members of Fossil Free California, standing behind the large concrete CalPERS building sign, holding up the individual letters that spell out, "DIVEST."

The Seeds for Our Victory in 2023 — Planted in That Day 2013

By Deborah Silvey | February 10, 2023

What has kept us so committed to Fossil Free California since these early years? A sense of the urgency of climate change propelled our growth, even while we were  a small, wholly volunteer organization. We also had early success: in 2015 we were part of the coalition that helped pass Senate Bill 185, mandating divestment from thermal coal companies by both CalPERS and CalSTRS.

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Promises, Promises: Evaluating CalPERS’ Climate Engagements

By Clair Brown and | November 7, 2022

Full Report Here CalPERS seems to have an unshakeable faith in the ability of shareholder engagement to transform fossil fuel companies into clean energy providers.  This report reviews CalPERS’ engagement history with 10 selected Big Oil companies from its portfolio, to test whether engagement is producing real-world results. We looked at CalPERS’ proxy voting patterns…

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New report reveals California pensions CalPERS, CalSTRS vote NO on Big Oil shareholder climate resolutions

By CJ Koepp | June 8, 2022

The retirement systems’ failed shareholder engagement efforts with fossil fuel companies has cost their members $11.9 billion in returns California — A report released today from Fossil Free California reveals that California’s public pensions voted to oppose climate action at major fossil fuel companies and financiers during the 2022 Annual General Meeting season. This exposé…

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What Does Divestment Cost? Misinformation from CalPERS and CalSTRS

By Sandy Emerson | May 9, 2022

The “fiscal impact” analysis for the Appropriations Committee in the state Senate or Assembly can make or break a bill. For divestment bills, CalPERS and CalSTRS have repeatedly given imprecise, incorrect, and inflated figures on the costs of divestment, including in the numbers reported to the Appropriations Committee for SB 1173, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill.

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CalSTRS Exaggerates Costs of Divestment

By Owen Doyle, Lanie Goldberg and UC Berkeley Economics Professor Clair Brown | May 3, 2022

CalPERS and CalSTRS manage portfolios worth $466 billion and $323 billion, respectively, so it’s natural for these public pension funds to throw around large numbers. But evidence from the funds themselves and from independent analyses suggests that PERS and STRS wildly exaggerate both the transaction costs and the opportunity costs of divestments in general. In…

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CalSTRS Tunes Out Teachers to Engage with Exxon

By and Cynthia Kaufman | April 12, 2022

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (or, CalSTRS) prides itself on its shareholder engagement with fossil fuel companies. However, by spending their resources, time, and energy on connecting with oil giants like Exxon, CalSTRS has failed to engage with the shareholders who matter most: their own.

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CalPERS’ Portfolio Harbors Nearly $45 Billion in Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets

By Sindre Carlsen and Jonathan Li | March 21, 2022

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons As we transition towards a sustainable society, the country’s largest public pension fund claims to be doing its part. CalPERS (the California Public Employees’ Retirement System) is attempting to leverage its $27 billion in fossil fuel investments ($5.6 billion in companies with fossil fuel reserves) to ask the companies powering…

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To Help Ukraine, Will Pensions Divest From Unethical Fossil Fuels?

By David Page and John Avalos | March 10, 2022

San Francisco & California pension funds: divest from both fossil-fuels and dictators! Many of us have been watching the images of terrible destruction and heartbreak from Ukraine. Have you wondered how President Putin finances his military machine? As much as 50% of Russian government revenue comes from fossil-fuel related businesses. Unfortunately, California and San Francisco pension funds…

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Climate Justice Coalition Cheers as Senator Gonzalez Introduces Pension Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill

By CJ Koepp | February 17, 2022

Today, Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) introduced SB 1173 — the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act — in the California state legislature. The bill would mandate that California’s public pension funds stop investing in fossil fuel companies. For over eight years, teachers, students, and state workers have called for their pensions to divest from fossil…

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