[GPSCC-chat] Fw: Sunnyvale City Council meeting TODAY 7 pm - divestment comments please!

[Caroline Yacoub]

On Tuesday, January 6, 2015 11:01 AM, Victoria Armigo via Fossil Free <divest at gofossilfree.org> wrote:
 


Tue. Jan. 6, 2015 7 pm – Divestment Vote at Sunnyvale City Council
The Sunnyvale City Council is taking up their legislative advocacy positions this coming Tuesday, and is expected to discuss taking a position on divestment again, after failing to do so by 1 vote last year. A vote in support of divestment would empower the Mayor to send a letter asking CalPERS to divest. We need as many people as possible to comment in support of divestment to help the resolution pass. Here’s an opportunity to make a difference! 
When:Tuesday January 6, 2015 7 pm
Where: City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
It is hard to judge what time comments will begin for Agenda Item 6. It is not necessary to be there right at 7 pm. Best to bring something to read. It does not look like the meeting will be real long. A lot depends on how many public comments there are on budget issues. You will have 3 minutes to comment, or 2 minutes if the meeting has a lot of speakers.
Comment ideas:
	* Yes, we want a formal policy preventing Sunnyvale from investing in fossil fuel companies or funds that invest in them, as soon as feasible.
	* Yes, even though Sunnyvale does not have control over the investments of  other agencies, we should submit a formal request to these agencies requesting  that these agencies refrain from future investments in fossil fuel fuels or funds that contain them and divest from such investments currently in the portfolio.
Sunnyvale’s employees are CalPERS members, and retired Sunnyvale employees receive their pensions from CalPERS. It would be wonderful if Sunnyvale followed other cities (Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, Fairfax, and others) in urging CalPERS and CalSTRS to divest from the top 200 fossil fuel stocks. 

As you are all probably well aware, the general divestment “ask” isn’t for the city to sell all stocks in “energy-related companies”. It’s for municipalities, educational institutions, pension funds, and religious denominations to
	1. Not make any new investments in the 200 global companies holding the largest unexploited fossil fuel reserves,
	2. Divest from those companies within five years, and 
	3. Be public and transparent about it.
The “top 200” are the focus of the divestment movement because these companies’ valuations are based on the future value of their coal, oil, and gas reserves. Holding those stocks is risky for pension funds and others because the vast majority of those reserves must never be developed, if the earth is to remain habitable. Those assets must be stranded if we are to survive -- and when that happens the stocks will lose their value. 

See http://fossilfreeindexes.com/the-carbon-underground-2014/ for the latest list of the top 200 companies; also see much background posted here: http://www.carbontracker.org/our-work/. 

Mayor's preview of the meeting in his blog: h ttp://www.dweeb.org/2015/01/03/01062015-council-preview-happy-new-year/#more-2417

Direct link to agenda: https://sunnyvaleca.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=294976&GUID=9BE955B1-BA32-457C-9B88-AA2E66048E18
Thank you for signing the petition Divest Sunnyvale From Fossil Fuels, can you help spread the word by forwarding the link below to your friends?
http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/divest-sunnyvale-from-fossil-fuels
Thanks,
Victoria Armigo
 

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