This is an incredible news!
The worldwide divestment movement that you have supported through your backing for the Guardian's Keep it in the Ground campaign has now grown to over 400 organisations - worth a colossal $2.6 trillion (£1.68 trillion). The movement that started on American university campuses has now spread to faith groups, philanthropic funders, local authorities and pension funds in over 40 countries. In the last year, the total assets managed by funds that have decided to divest has grown 50-fold.
Environmentalist Bill McKibben who set up 350.org, the NGO that has spearheaded the divestment movement, said: "In the hottest year we've ever measured on our planet, big institutions and organisations are finally stepping up to say: we won't participate in this charade, and we will stand up to the fossil fuel companies that are causing it. A 50-fold increase is a sign that civil society is finally fully on the move in the battle against climate change".
This is a big statement from civil society. Help the movement grow:
This is as +350.org is spreaheading this initaitive as The Major Conference in Paris draws ever so closer:
Friends,
In December, world governments will meet in Paris and attempt to reach a new global agreement on climate change. Previous climate talks haven’t been huge successes, so it's no surprise that the commitments on the table right now fall short of what science & justice demand.
That doesn't mean the Paris talks aren't important, though. For a few weeks, the world's attention will be squarely focused on the climate crisis and what needs to be done to solve it. Paris will be in the spotlight, and it's up to our movement to seize the moment.
Our message is this: We need to keep at least 80% of fossil fuels in the ground and invest in a just transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. That's the level of ambition we want to see demonstrated at the summit in Paris.
That kind of ambition won't come from politicians, however. We need to push hard the next few months -- to get the best climate deal that we can in Paris, and to make sure that this summit doesn't represent the end of the story.
Starting this weekend and running through the next couple of weeks, people around the world are hosting “Power Through Paris” workshops to start building momentum for the months ahead.
There's at least one workshop near you coming up -- can you be part of this moment? Here are all the details from event hosts in your area:
What: Power Through Paris Workshop
When: Saturday, September 26, 2:00 PM
Where: Cousin's Living Room! - Laguna Niguel, CA
The only thing that has ever worked to move world governments into action is grassroots organizing by people like you and me. At the workshop, you'll have an opportunity to meet people in your community who care about climate action, discuss plans for Paris, and start working together -- so that together we can be stronger and louder than the fossil fuel industry, in Paris and beyond.
The key here is momentum: Right now, we're learning, meeting, building relationships, and hatching plans. In November and December, we'll take to the streets to make sure that our demands to keep fossil fuels in the ground and build a just transition to 100% renewable energy are heard -- both locally and on the global level.
When the talks wrap up, the climate movement will still have plenty of work to do, no matter what kind of deal comes out of the summit. But if we start now, we'll have a bigger, smarter, and more connected climate movement to carry this work forward past December.
I hope you can join a "Power through Paris" workshop in your community. People are going to make the difference here, not politicians -- and that means you.
Thanks for being part of this movement,
Our view is that once we can overcome such challenges, we can continue to encourage developments such as this that Steve Case Shared earlier this year:
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This, clearly, is Gus' happy face.
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