Fossil Free Bremen has done it! Following similar success in Berlin, they have convinced the City State of Bremen to divest from coal, oil and gas. What’s more, from now on Bremen will only purchase so-called Green Bonds.
For more information, read the complete resolution on Investing Bremen’s money in accordance with ethical and ecological criteria!
The most important aspect of the decision for us are the very strict exclusion criteria for the fossil fuel industry. They not only exclude companies that extract coal, natural gas, oil and uranium, but also those that transport, sell or burn these fuels.
It is also worth noting that Bremen, like Münster and Stuttgart, also excludes other companies with poor ethical or environmental records. Here is the extract from the decision which urges others to follow their lead:
When consulting and selecting ratings for ethical and climate-friendly financial investments and their issuers, ensure that the following negative criteria for bank bonds have been taken into consideration:
Extraction, transport and sale of, and energy generation from, fossil and nuclear energy sources (coal, natural gas, oil, uranium)
Child labour
Manufacture or sale of weapons of war
Manufacture or sale of genetically modified plants or seeds
Use of animal testing to manufacture cosmetics
Blatant incidences of corruption or bribery
Violation of core ILO labour standards
Support for tax havens and tax evasion
We applaud the tenacious team at Fossil Free Bremen who made this success possible and conclude with the scenes of celebration in front of Bremen City Hall.