The burning of fossil fuels has already raised Earth’s temperature to disastrous effect. If these increases go unchecked then coastal areas will flood, droughts will limit crop yields, and lives across the globe will be destroyed. The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy demonstrates how vulnerable New Yorkers already are to exceptional storms. Many union members and their communities also suffer from poor air quality due to fossil fuel emissions.

At the UN Summit on Climate Change in December 2015, nations recognized their common moral obligation to limit temperature increases to under 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Using all of the fossil fuel industry’s coal, oil, and gas reserves would warm the earth by 11-22 degrees, if not more. The health and safety of all require that fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground. Through unions we have the power to help make that happen.

Our retirement savings should not be invested in an uncertain and volatile industry. The Teacher’s Retirement System lost $135 million over the course of one year from fossil fuel investments. The value of fossil fuel reserves is uncertain at best, with 742 institutions committing to divest $5.42 trillion in addition to the $5.2 billion already divested by individuals. With >$3 billion of our pensions* still invested in fossil fuels, our financial wellbeing is at risk.

As union members devoting our careers to this community, we should not invest our retirement savings in an industry that would destroy it. Whether by constructing our city’s buildings, transporting our people, or preparing our students for the future, we put our hearts and souls into NYC. It goes against everything we stand for to invest our pensions in activities that would flood our neighborhoods and subject our communities to devastating heat.

THEREFORE, we call on NYC’s Pension Boards to freeze all investments in fossil fuel companies now, divest our pensions from these companies by 2020, and reinvest them in ways that benefit workers.