Vermont Business Magazine At Monday night’s Burlington City Council meeting, the Council unanimously passed a resolution requesting that the city divest from fossil fuel companies. Mayor Miro Weinberger had previously announced he also supported the measure.
“It is time for the City of Burlington to join the growing number of cities around the world that are fully divesting from fossil fuel companies," Weinberger said ahead of the vote. "I support Councilor Jane Stromberg’s resolution before the City Council tonight that would initiate that process, and look forward to working with the Board of the Burlington Employee Retirement System (BERS) and the City Council to see it implemented."
The resolution requests that BERS provide the Council with a current accounting of the fossil fuel investments in its investment portfolio, including non-stock investments as soon as possible but in any event no later than its last meeting in April 2021. BERS currently holds a little over $3 million or less than 2% of its total equities’ portfolio in fossil fuel assets.
The City Council also requests that BERS commit to full divestment from fossil fuel companies and outline a timeline by which that divestment will be completed and at the same meeting in April 2021, report to the council on the feasibility of (1) making an annual analysis and review of fossil fuel exposure in the investment portfolio; (2) making an annual review of fossil fuel-free investment product availability; (3) further limiting and/or eliminating top 200 fossil fuel companies in Burlington’s investment portfolio where feasible and in concert with the timeline for divestment, and (4) assessing what other municipalities are doing with regard to fossil fuel investments.
The Council also requests that the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) report on the extent of the City’s non-BERS fossil fuel investments, if any, as soon as possible but in any event no later than the same April2021 meeting.
The Council also requests in the resolution that its Transportation Energy and Utilities Committee work with the CAO and Board of Finance to investigate and hold hearings on the creation of a Burlington Green New Deal Investment Fund (GNDIF) that could be capitalized by a variety of sources, including divested BERS investments, to be used to support the work of BED and other entities to make Burlington a Net Zero City.
“In recent years," Weinberger said, "my Administration has worked both to stabilize the City’s finances and lead the nation in responding to the climate crisis at the local level. We’ve seen that, increasingly, investments in climate mitigation and resiliency aren’t just the right thing to do – they also make good economic sense in both the short- and long-term.
“As we examine divestment, it is critical that we also carefully steward the retirement savings of employees who have dedicated their careers to serving the City of Burlington. The good news is that it has become empirically clear that it is possible to pursue divestment without sacrificing returns or our low-cost, passive investment strategy. Even further, a growing number of investment professionals are coming to see investments in fossil fuel companies as carrying greater risk. As the Mayors Innovation Project puts it, ‘we shouldn’t be funding our retirement by investing in companies whose operations ensure we won’t have a safe planet to retire on.’
“I am appreciative of Councilor Stromberg’s leadership in bringing this item forward, and her collaboration with the Administration throughout this process. Thank you also to Councilor Karen Paul for her hard work to ensure a strong and prudent resolution.”
Source: Burlington, VT – Mayor. City Council. 11.23.2020