California Democrats support divestment

Senator Kevin de León at the California Democratic Convention

On May 17, at their annual convention, California Democrats endorsed a resolution urging CalPERS, CalSTRS, the University of California and California State University endowments, and the University of California Retirement Plan to divest from coal, oil, and gas companies controlling the most unexploited reserves of fossil fuels.

The resolution was endorsed by 20 Democratic county committees. In the days before the convention, Bill McKibben wrote on Daily Kos about the importance of California’s divestment work:

California’s the center of the new energy revolution….  And California’s also the center of the climate crisis…. So now’s the moment for the state of California to become the center of the divestment movement.

President pro Tempore of the California State Senate Kevin de León commented:

Our policies, technologies and global markets are all moving in concert away from these industries. Coal is hands down the dirtiest form of energy on our planet. So why continue to invest our public employees’ retirement funds into this fading industry, especially given the multitude of health and environmental concerns it creates? My bill, SB 185, would require CalSTRS and CalPERS to divest their coal holdings. The California Democratic Party’s resolution calling for support of divestment from fossil fuels proves that we look toward the future together and listen to the generations that will inhabit it.

Now on to passing SB185 in both the Senate and the Assembly!