Environmental Protection & Energy/Finance City Council January 27, 2021
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR DIVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES
WHEREAS, The global climate crisis, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is a serious threat to current and future generations; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report finds that: "Annual costs [of global warming] to North America have now reached tens of billions of dollars in damaged property and economic productivity, as well as lives disrupted and lost"; and
WHEREAS, The consequences of climate change stand to make Chicago a less desirable place to live and work, negatively impacting the fiscal and social health of the City; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Climate Action Plan found that, by the end ofthe century, under current emissions trends, Chicago could experience: heat waves as intense as the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, which caused 739 deaths, several times per summer; an increased ambient and extreme heat which could lead to 10 percent to 50 percent higher ozone levels, decreasing air quality and increasing respiratory and related illnesses; annual precipitation increases of up to 25 percent in the form of heavier rainstorms, leading to increased pollution of Lake Michigan, decreasing water quality, and urban flooding; and increased risk of Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has a responsibility to protect the health and livelihoods of its inhabitants from the threat of climate change, and has a unique opportunity to ensure its investments support a future where residents can live without the negative impacts of global warming; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago can become a leader in the fight against climate change by divesting City assets from fossil fuel companies - often referred to as the 200 publicly-traded companies with the largest coal, oil, and gas reserves as listed in the Carbon Tracker Initiative's "Unburnable Carbon" repor...
Click here for full text