Standard Oil heirs join movement to divest In Fossil Fuels
The movement against investing in fossil fuels has reached a critical mass, with more than 800 individuals and institutions promising to rid their portfolios of $50 billion worth of investments in non-renewable fuels.
On Sept. 22, the Rockefeller family — whose scion, John D. Rockefeller, built an immense fortune as co-founder of Standard Oil – announced that its $860 million philanthropic foundation, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, would be the latest to join the movement.
Fund trustee Steven Rockefeller said his family’s decision has “both a moral and economic dimension.”
Since its beginnings three years ago, Global Divest-Invest has attracted 180 institutions and 650 individuals and families who have vowed to dispose of their investments in oil and other polluting fuels over the next five years.
Corporations are also changing their ways. Food giant Mars Inc. is among the multinationals that is phasing out the use of fossil fuels, and Norway’s Statoil is one of five energy giants pledging to stop toxic methane leaks. The consumer goods corporation Unilever says it will endorse a tax on carbon.
“I’m really going to ask world leaders to show their political will,” Ban said. “I count on the U.S. and China, who are the biggest greenhouse-emitting countries [to] lead this campaign.”
The secretary-general was among more than 300,000 people who marched in the largest climate demonstration ever in New York on Sept. 21 to press for action against climate change. Similar marches were held around the world.
Source: oilpricecom- Standard Oil Heirs Join Movement To Divest In Fossil Fuels
