One more time. We need to push the Tom DiNapoli to follow through on his prior agreement to divest from fossil fuel companies that are bad for the climate.
Call NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli at at 866-961-4293 
5
and tell him it is time to admit the Exxon, Shell, Chevron and the rest of the oil and gas companies are climate villains. It is time for him to admit that and divest the state Common Retirement Fund from these fossil fuels:
“Please fully divest the state pension from oil and gas companies, especially Exxon. You need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and stop investing in companies that knowingly drove climate change, which threatens the future of humanity.”
Background
The State Comptroller may finally be coming to a decision on his review of the climate agenda of Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and the oil and gas companies that he started in August 2022. DiNapoli says the state common retirement fund has $4.69 billion invested in fossil fuel companies.
DiNapoli has been stalling on standing up to oil and gas companies now that the legislature withdrew the bill to divest fossil fuels in exchange for his commitment to ask fossil fuel executives if they are committed to climate action.
DiNapoli should not award the oil and gas companies a get out of jail card after they have lied to the world for 70 years about how they were knowingly driving global warming. Besides divesting, DiNapoli – as the state’s fiscal watchdog – should be calling to make the fossil fuel companies reimburse the state and its residents for all the damage their pollution has caused. He should also ensure that the state is investing sufficient funds to achieve the goals of the state’s climate law (CLCPA). The UN Climate Chief this week said that governments needed to close their emissions loopholes and invest a lot more money in the clean energy transition.
Exxon and al have been running extensive media companies that they are now climate friendly since they support huge tax subsidies to develop carbon capture and sequestration technology that would allow them to continue to burn fossil fuels by capturing the emissions. Yet even the International Energy Agency has released a report saying that carbon capture is an expensive and flawed illusion, and the oil and gas companies and politicians need to invest in renewable energy and conservation. DiNapoli should not be fooled by the fossil fuels’ misinformation campaigns.
Despite their media campaigns, the large oil and gas companies are expanding their investments in fossil fuels. The UN recently released a study that analyzed the 20 major fossil fuel producers and found they plan to produce, in total, around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting the degree of warming to 1.5C, and 69% more than is consistent with 2C.
The LA Times recently called for the California pension funds to divest: In a state that prides itself on its climate leadership, there is obvious hypocrisy in using the retirement money of state employees and teachers to prop up companies that profit from the burning of oil and gas that’s causing a catastrophic overheating of our planet.
Background about Exxon, oil and gas companies, and what DiNapoli is doing here: DiNapoli fact sheet.
It is not clear what climate scientists, UN officials or activists if any DiNapoli has been consulting with over the last 18 months. Climate scientists are presently debating how close global warming came to the 1.5 degrees C warming target in 2023; some reports indicate that the limit was breached. The UN Secretary-General says that the slow action by governments to reduce emissions has resulted in the opening of the Gates to Hell.
The head of the Paris Climate Accords recently said she had given up any hope for fossil fuel companies having a positive climate impact after seeing what the companies did with their record oil profits from the war in Ukraine. Instead of investing in renewable energy and other ways to cuts emissions, “what we see is international oil companies cutting back, slowing down or, at best, painfully maintaining their decarbonization commitments, paying higher dividends to shareholders, buying back more shares and lobbying governments to reverse clean energy policies while paying lip service to change. The industry is making plans to explore new sources of polluting fossil fuels and, in the US, intimidating stakeholders who have been moving towards environmental, social and governance responsibility.”
While some argue that the record profits make them a good investment, in 2023 they ended up once again near the bottom of the stock market in terms of return. Of course, the best time to sell stock is when prices are inflated.
The added health care costs alone in New York from air pollution from fossil fuels is an estimated $50 billion a year. DiNapoli should be supporting the Climate Superfund Act to make polluters contribute at least $3 billion a year to help repair the infrastructure damage they have caused. He should also be urging the Hochul administration to put an adequate pricing on carbon emissions, not its proposal of $23 a ton. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the world governments provide an annual $7 trillion subsidy for fossil fuels by not making them pay for the pollution they cost; they recommend that carbon pricing should be $85 a ton by 2030 (DEC estimates the cost of emissions at $121 a ton).