Last week, a statement released by the mayors of 26 European cities, covered by Le Monde and in the Guardian, highlighted the significant investment capacity (€2tn, apparently) that cities have to tackle climate change. The fact that city mayors are starting to look at how this financial power can help speed up the energy transition is something to be hopeful about.
This week, we’ve seen yet more exciting and positive news with the Paris city council passing a motion in support of divestment from fossil fuels. You can find more details here and help make sure that the decision is implemented by joining Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein in signing the open letter to the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo.
No longer part of the problem
While supporting the development of Fossil Free divestment campaigns at a city/municipality level – with exciting initiatives already growing in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris and London to mention just a few – we’re not only collectively getting a better understanding of the role that cities can play in mitigating climate change, but also a clearer view of the ways in which they are still seriously contributing to the problem.
Through committing to address major causes of greenhouse gas emissions – polluting transport, old and/or poorly insulated buildings and energy supply – cities can do great things. We applaud the city mayors’ latest commitments, but we also see the contradiction between these words and other actions; be that the expansion of the coal harbour in Amsterdam or plans for a new motorway in Stockholm. Large investments in regressive infrastructure projects are a serious obstacle to progress on bringing down emissions.
Good for public money, good for the climate
In addition to these very practical and important procurement commitments, there appears to be an important piece of the puzzle missing. What about the cities’ financial investments? Where is the public money held by these cities being invested?
In the statement, mayors also refer to how cities’ activity can also have a “leverage effect” on the private sector. Divesting the city finances from fossil fuel companies could therefore play a significant role both in helping safeguard public money from the risk of the carbon bubble and stranded assets and also in setting a precedent for bigger sums of private money to be channeled towards the solutions. At the same time, it would help protect our cities from the impacts of climate change that would see, for example, London under water.
Join our call on cities to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a just transition to renewable solutions. Add your voice to a petition below and get involved in a campaign near you.