"The climate crisis is really the forcing mechanism: it is so big, so existential, so serious. But it reveals these bigger issues around humanity—the sense of fairness and justice and equality. Unless we reestablish an ethos of caring and sharing as a way of acting on this planet, we’re not going to solve this crisis.”
*As of December 2014, $15 million had been committed to impact investments, representing approximately 1.7% of the total portfolio. As of December 2018, $151.4 million has been committed, approximately 13.5%.
In debunking the misconception that mission-aligned investing lowers expected returns, the paper emphasizes that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for investors.
In September 2014, the Fund pledged to a two-step process to divest from fossil fuels: we committed to reducing exposure to coal and tar sands to less than one percent by the end of the year. At the same time, we began a comprehensive analysis of our exposure to other fossil fuel investments and began developing a strategy to eliminate the Fund’s exposure to these energy sources as quickly as possible.
RBF Board Chair Valerie Rockefeller, Founding Trustee David Rockefeller, and President Stephen Heintz in 2015. (Todd Shapera Photography)
David Rockefeller pledged to auction his collection of art, antiquities, furniture, and other personal items after his death and to distribute the proceeds to a number of charitable organizations. He made a $250 million gift to the RBF, the largest of his philanthropic bequests.
Source: The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment and Clean Energy Investment Movement 2018 Report by Arabella Advisors.
Divestment from the global fossil fuels industry has increased nearly twelve thousand percent over the last four years, a recent report from Arabella Advisors and DivestInvest finds.
