By Haleemah Atobiloye, Development Manager
First, some good news: SB 252 has cleared the Senate and is now headed to the Assembly’s Public Employment and Retirement Committee!
We have signed on to and continue to support SB 252 because it will require CalPERS and CalSTRS—the two largest public pension funds in the country—to divest over $14 billion from fossil fuel companies.
Let your Representative know you’re glad they have supported the bill thus far, and that you want them to CONTINUE to support fossil fuel divestment by voting YES at the upcoming Assembly’s Public Employment and Retirement Committee!
CalSTRS’ and CalPERS’ continued investment in fossil fuels have devastating, real-world impacts on California and its people, including the students, teachers, public employees, and retirees the funds are meant to serve. Driven by the fossil fuel industry, while the climate crisis affects all of us, it is especially harmful to low-income neighborhoods and communities of color where most oil and gas infrastructure is located.
Send a friendly reminder letter to your Representative today!
SB 252, the Fossil Fuel Divestment bill, is important to California, the nation, and the breast cancer crisis. Toxic exposures produced along the fossil fuel continuum have been linked to increased risks for breast cancer – to stop breast cancer, we must stop fossil fuels. We cannot keep letting fossil fuel companies win. They continue to garner massive profits at the expense of public health and our environment, while also receiving financial backing from large financial institutions.
State employees, teachers, students, and retirees in California are saying with this bill that their retirement savings shouldn’t be used to benefit the fossil fuel industry, poison the environment, and increase our risk for breast cancer. Investments must be made in support of sustainable projects. CalPERS and CalSTRS must remove toxic assets from their portfolios and invest retirement savings in cleaner assets that improve public health.
Take action now and let your Representative know they must vote YES on this bill.
To end the breast cancer crisis, we must make intentional efforts to end our reliance on fossil fuels.