Overview
At our current levels of global warming we are already seeing extreme weather events threaten the stability of insurance companies, and make whole areas that flood, burn and scorch unlivable year round. The devastating physical impacts of climate change pose real and significant risks to the stability of our financial system, long term economic growth, and the safety of our retirement savings. Federal regulators and economists are beginning to wake up to this reality but much of the financial world is still steeped in economic models of climate change that claim high warming scenarios, that climate scientists describe as incompatible with human civilization, would only have modest impacts to global economic growth.
The big banks and the financial sector have a tremendous amount of power over the speed and efficacy of the energy system yet they are carrying us toward disaster even in terms of their own pure self interest.
If any actor should be raising the alarms about long term risks to economic health in the financial sector it should be our public pension funds which are entrusted to ensure people can retire decades from now. Tragically the Washington State Investment Board routinely uses its significant shareholder power to vote against measures that would get big banks to realign their investments.
We are organizing to push the State Investment Board to change course and take the threat of climate change as seriously as it should, and use its significant shareholder power to push the banks and other corporations to meet our shared climate goals.
Join our listserv for regular updates on ways to plugin!
Are you a pension holder? You can play a key role in this campaign!
Contact
Andrew Eckels, Andrew@350Seattle.org
Resources
FAQ
docs.google.com/document/d/1tEMZwA9ayhBrOaHuQzIID9nF3POViOAB_RgxqbXmHjY/edit