Divest NY Teachers' Retirement Fund from Climate Destroying Fossil Fuels

Thomas Lee, Executive Director & David Keefe, President of the NYS Teachers Retirement System AND Melinda Person, President NYSUT

New York's climate law requires net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Comptroller DiNapoli is currently divesting the NYS pension from coal, oil and gas companies, citing financial risk to the fund. New York City teachers have also committed to divest. Yet the NYS Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) has refused to develop a divestment plan.

The climate crisis is creating havoc and disrupting lives with firestorms, floods, rising oceans and drought. While teachers are committed to the education of all students, communities of color bear the brunt of climate destruction. It is immoral to provide financial support for, or to seek to make money from, an activity that is destroying the planet. Students are demanding climate action. The fund must support the students in their goal for a sustainable future.

NYSTRS must stop investments in the fossil fuel industry which are putting the financial stability of the pension fund at risk and are destroying our planet NOW.


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Albany, NY

To: Thomas Lee, Executive Director & David Keefe, President of the NYS Teachers Retirement System AND Melinda Person, President NYSUT
From: [Your Name]

We call on the New York State Teachers Retirement Fund to stop funding climate destruction and divest its funds from all fossil fuels. The pension fund is for our future. Let's use it to create a sustainable future for our retirement and for our students.