Posted on 01/07/2020 6:27:17 PM PST by karpov
Climate crusaders are failing to persuade voters to limit fossil fuels, but they’re turning to coercion by other means. They’re having some success with U.S. banks and insurers that are caving to pressure to divest from carbon energy.
The Hartford insurance group last month announced it will no longer insure or invest in companies that generate more than 25% of their revenues from coal mining or more than 25% of their energy from coal. It will also black-list companies that generate more than a quarter of their revenues from drilling in Canada’s Alberta oil sands.
“As an insurer and asset manager we recognize the growing cost of this [climate] crisis, and we’re determined to use our resources and influence to address the challenge,” CEO Christopher Swift said. Hartford is the fourth U.S. insurer to restrict investment in fossil fuels in the last six months, and its announcement follows a coal divestment pledge by Liberty Mutual earlier in December.
Goldman Sachs also recently declared that it will no longer finance new coal mines, coal power plants or oil exploration in the Arctic. “Now other major U.S. banks, especially JPMorgan Chase —the world’s worst banker of fossil fuels by a wide margin—must improve on what Goldman has done,” the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) declared.
Property and casualty insurers like Hartford and Liberty Mutual should account for weather and climate risks such as California wildfires when underwriting policies. Banks also have an obligation to generate profits for their shareholders and customers. But financial institutions appear to be acting mainly to appease anti-carbon pressure groups.
Liberty Mutual announced its coal divestment pledge the same day it was lambasted by green potentate Bill McKibben in a Boston Globe op-ed. Progressive groups have especially targeted the Tar Sands and Arctic because of their rich oil reserves.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
When the true climate science is proclaimed, I predict that the effect of “fossil fuels” (a misnomer) will be shown to be negligible.
By that time, fossil fuels will be owned by a few billionaires.
Tards
Time to hold the climate fraudsters to account and ensure they have no fossil fuel transportation or home utilities.
Some people are putting all the money on plastic bottled water to let koalas and roos sip on in Australia
Just don’t invest in them plastic straws, that would be bad! Lil koala could choke on that
It’s time to start calling this what it is... the “climate change superstition.”
I suspect they’ll REGRET their move as tensions increase in the Middle East...although it’s still early.
If the executives of those companies still want to use electricity, they’d best be funding and insuring nuclear power. Republicans need to be calling for those executives to be at the back of the rationing line when the shortages arise.
It would be a great opportunity for people to start a bank and cater to the 2nd amendment companies and oil companies.
Or any products made using fossil energy. That's practically impossible to do but it would be funny to watch them try.
So, still thinkin’ “2ND Amendment Bank of the U.S.” could add some oil industry folks to the portfolio. Anybody got some capital?
I noticed some robo investors have funds that are “socially repsonsible”, which doesn’t invest in oil, all the “bad things”, etc. That’s fine as that is an individual investor investing their money.
This on the other hand is fairly dumb for major banks to leave money on the table. At least it seems that way on the surface. I’m sure they may be investing through other means/banks, while giving themselves cover for the politics of it. If not, the money vacuum will be filled by someone (e.g. ChicComs, super wealthy) as the world still is operating on fossil fuels.
But the nuclear plants have to be built without any concrete or steel as those use north of $10 billion worth of fossil fuels per reactor during construction, maintenance, and decommissioning. And there should be no more nuclear reactors, solar, or wind farms in the conservative countryside where food is grown. Nuclear reactors are perfect inside Democrat voting city limits. Maybe they can have Chinese made reactors shipped in to save a buck.
Your bailout money at work. These mother effers better get their ficances right and pay back the tax payer instead of this bull sht.
Plenty of competitors I am sure would Loooove to make lucrative bids these idiots are leaving aside.
Are these banks trying to abolish such licensing, however?
It seems to me they are behaving as a favored state/politics tied monopolies.
Americans will use the power of the purse once again and these fools will suffer the consequences of their fecklessness and balless existence
This makes me wish I hadn’t retired. The companies are quite vulnerable to breach of fiduciary duty and negligence suits by their stockholders. Only public pension funds can get away with such games.
There is no such thing as fossil fuel, nor 11 million undocumented workers.
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