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| The fossil fuel path is immoral and financially imprudent | The fossil fuel path is immoral and financially imprudent |
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| I am proud of the legacy of John D Rockefeller, who built the greatest fossil fuel enterprise in history. In his day, fossil fuel was a liberating force – it literally changed the face of the earth, freeing many people from toil. The family business is now philanthropy; at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which I chair, we use the money made from Standard Oil to advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. | I am proud of the legacy of John D Rockefeller, who built the greatest fossil fuel enterprise in history. In his day, fossil fuel was a liberating force – it literally changed the face of the earth, freeing many people from toil. The family business is now philanthropy; at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which I chair, we use the money made from Standard Oil to advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. |
| But the key phrase in the encomium above is “in his day”. Consider the words of my great-great grandfather’s rough contemporary, the poet James Russell Lowell, which he wrote about slavery and would later become a resounding hymn: | But the key phrase in the encomium above is “in his day”. Consider the words of my great-great grandfather’s rough contemporary, the poet James Russell Lowell, which he wrote about slavery and would later become a resounding hymn: |
| “New occasions teach new duties; time makes ancient good uncouth; they must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.” | “New occasions teach new duties; time makes ancient good uncouth; they must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.” |
| The new occasion in this case comes from chemistry and physics; in our great universities, scientists have shown that by burning fossil fuel we are overheating the planet. They have made it clear that roughly 80% of the fossil fuel reserves already identified on this planet must remain underground. We’re not talking about radicals here: recently, for instance, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said “the vast majority” of the planet’s coal, oil, and gas reserves simply can’t be burned if the world is to meet its target of keeping temperature rise below two degrees. | The new occasion in this case comes from chemistry and physics; in our great universities, scientists have shown that by burning fossil fuel we are overheating the planet. They have made it clear that roughly 80% of the fossil fuel reserves already identified on this planet must remain underground. We’re not talking about radicals here: recently, for instance, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said “the vast majority” of the planet’s coal, oil, and gas reserves simply can’t be burned if the world is to meet its target of keeping temperature rise below two degrees. |
| Related: Rockefeller Brothers Fund: it is our moral duty to divest from fossil fuels | Related: Rockefeller Brothers Fund: it is our moral duty to divest from fossil fuels |
| The science leads to two conclusions, both of which prompted the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a foundation led by both family and non-family trustees, to begin divesting its holdings in fossil fuels. | The science leads to two conclusions, both of which prompted the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a foundation led by both family and non-family trustees, to begin divesting its holdings in fossil fuels. |
| The first is that it’s immoral to continue down the fossil fuel path. We know that alternatives exist – indeed, late last year the International Energy Agency said that for the poorest people on earth, solar energy was a better path even than cheap coal for getting the energy they desperately need. We also know that the poorest among us will pay the heaviest price for unchecked climate change. As Desmond Tutu has declared, climate change is the human rights challenge of our time. | The first is that it’s immoral to continue down the fossil fuel path. We know that alternatives exist – indeed, late last year the International Energy Agency said that for the poorest people on earth, solar energy was a better path even than cheap coal for getting the energy they desperately need. We also know that the poorest among us will pay the heaviest price for unchecked climate change. As Desmond Tutu has declared, climate change is the human rights challenge of our time. |
| The second conclusion is that it’s financially imprudent to stay invested in companies whose profits depend on defying both physics and the international effort to restrain climate change. HSBC, for instance, has noted that if the world moves to meet its 2C target, the valuations of many fossil fuel companies would fall by half or more. | The second conclusion is that it’s financially imprudent to stay invested in companies whose profits depend on defying both physics and the international effort to restrain climate change. HSBC, for instance, has noted that if the world moves to meet its 2C target, the valuations of many fossil fuel companies would fall by half or more. |
| Some of my family members and other notable partners have made this case with the executives of Exxon, the company our family founded. Many have urged them to turn their great pools of capital, and wealth of technical expertise toward becoming an energy company, not a fossil fuel company. But these attempts at engagement have not sufficed. Thus, although we will hold on to a few shares to have the right to continue to try to influence company policy, we have begun to divest, and to look for ways to invest that money into the energy of the future. | Some of my family members and other notable partners have made this case with the executives of Exxon, the company our family founded. Many have urged them to turn their great pools of capital, and wealth of technical expertise toward becoming an energy company, not a fossil fuel company. But these attempts at engagement have not sufficed. Thus, although we will hold on to a few shares to have the right to continue to try to influence company policy, we have begun to divest, and to look for ways to invest that money into the energy of the future. |
| We applaud others who have taken the same steps: we were inspired by organizations like the World Council of Churches, and by renowned institutions like Stanford University. We’re glad that the same movement has spread to Europe, where Glasgow University has begun the same process, and to Australia where first-rate institutions, including the University of Sydney and the Australian National University have taken steps along the same path. We know that they will all encounter opposition from those with a vested interest in the status quo, but we know too that young people in particular will thank them for their efforts. | We applaud others who have taken the same steps: we were inspired by organizations like the World Council of Churches, and by renowned institutions like Stanford University. We’re glad that the same movement has spread to Europe, where Glasgow University has begun the same process, and to Australia where first-rate institutions, including the University of Sydney and the Australian National University have taken steps along the same path. We know that they will all encounter opposition from those with a vested interest in the status quo, but we know too that young people in particular will thank them for their efforts. |
| Young people, of course, are the ones who must live with the world we are building now. We all must work together, however, around the world as well as across generations. Times change – what was right once, is now wrong – and new innovations beckon. We are convinced that if John D Rockefeller were alive today, he’d be as visionary about green energy as once he was about black crude. | Young people, of course, are the ones who must live with the world we are building now. We all must work together, however, around the world as well as across generations. Times change – what was right once, is now wrong – and new innovations beckon. We are convinced that if John D Rockefeller were alive today, he’d be as visionary about green energy as once he was about black crude. |
| Valerie Rockefeller Wayne is the chair of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund | Valerie Rockefeller Wayne is the chair of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund |