Photo of a refinery, with the logo for the Los Angles Times at bottom center.

Los Angeles Times Editorial Board: CalPERS must ditch fossil fuel investments. Its new ‘sustainable’ plan doesn’t do that

In an editorial published December 4, 2023, the Los Angeles Times endorsed legislation as the best way to divest CalPERS.

The Editorial Board writes:

“California’s two big public pension funds have been under increasing pressure to divest from fossil fuels as other big institutional investors move to shed their holdings in oil companies and other heavily polluting industries. And it’s not hard to see why.

CalPERS and CalSTRS have billions invested in fossil fuels, from multinational oil giants such as ExxonMobil and Chevron to government-owned companies in China and Saudi Arabia. In a state that prides itself on its climate leadership, there is obvious hypocrisy in using the retirement money of state employees and teachers to prop up companies that profit from the burning of oil and gas that’s causing a catastrophic overheating of our planet. It’s no wonder that so many Californians, including lawmakers, environmental activists, young people and retirees, have called for these influential funds to divest from these dangerous industries.”

Author and founder of Third Act, Bill McKibben responded:

See the full piece in the Los Angeles Times here.
Paywall issues? We encourage you to subscribe to the Los Angeles Times, but in the meantime, you can read the archived editorial here: https://bit.ly/LAtimesEndorsesSB252
(Thank you Internet Archive!)

And join the conversation on social media!
LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | Twitter/X