As big statements go
within the philanthropic world this is a big one. The charitable fund of the
Rockefeller family, the Rockefeller Family Fund has announced that it will
divest from fossil fuel companies.
Citing the pressing
need to reduce investing and extracting in hydrocarbons, the fund says there is
no "sane rationale" for holding these investments. Of particular scorn
and justification,
the fund says that it will primarily divest from ExxonMobil.
The fund says:
"evidence suggests that the company worked since the 1980s to confuse
the public about climate change’s
march, while simultaneously spending millions to fortify its own infrastructure
against climate change’s destructive consequences and track new exploration
opportunities as the Arctic’s ice receded."
The
Rockefeller board has instructed its advisors to: “immediately eliminate holdings of ExxonMobil, and all
coal, and tar sands-based companies outside the portions of the portfolio
managed by third parties, and to keep exposures for these three categories of
investment below 1 percent across the entire portfolio.” The financial value of
these investments is unclear. Further investigation may be required here, but
it may be low.
There is
acknowledgment that the Rockefellers have essentially built their fortune on
the oil industry, but they admit that times have moved on. The oil industry
will probably scoff at this announcement. It has suffered from a massive
decrease in oil revenues from lower prices, so some may see a worrying trend here.
The divest campaign hasn’t had that many victories, especially amongst the
charitable sector. The Wellcome Trust have declined to get on board.
