Wealthy Dutch investors to disinvest personal capital worth 200 million euros from the fossil industry
Joint press release from Both ENDS and Fossielvrij NL - 26 March 2019
A group of 22 wealthy Dutch investors have decided to disinvest all their personal capital, worth a total of 200 million euros, from the top 200 oil, gas and coal companies. The investors have pledged to disinvest all their capital from the fossil industry within three to five years. By doing so, they are giving a clear signal that they do not want their capital to contribute to disastrous climate change.
By signing the pledge, the Dutch investors are joining the worldwide DivestInvest movement that has already resulted in more than eight billion dollars being disinvested from the fossil industry – almost ten times the entire GNP of the Netherlands. As leaders of the movement in the Netherlands, the pledgers are showing that resolute action is required to ensure that a liveable climate remains within reach. Together they make up the Dutch DivestInvest network that is supported by Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL and Stichting DOEN.
Why sign up?
Frank van Beuningen, founder of Pymwymic: "It is time that we investors spoke out. We normally say nothing but it is time to step forward. Now. Stop fossil energy. Stop using your capital to finance a climate crisis."
Jan Willem Nieuwenhuys, Director of Fair Capital Partners: "Money changes the world. It has an enormous impact on how companies and people behave. In the past fifteen years, sustainable investment has become the norm. But we're not there yet. We need to take the next step to become 100% sustainable and Divest Invest is part of that step! We have to combine our financial strength to persuade stock exchange investors to change course. To pursue the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and make the world better and ready for the following generations. Money offers us the opportunity to exert influence and make the world better and fairer."
Leonard van Oord: fifth generation of the Van Oord family dredging business. Full-time student and active in various initiatives and organisations including Pymwymic, NEXUS and Yunus Social Business: "We are aware that if we are serious about our concerns for the climate, we have to put our words into deeds. That doesn't apply only to these 22 investors, it is a choice everyone can make. And that is precisely what we hope to inspire with this pledge. That people conduct a dialogue with their financial partners and see how things can be done differently. Because we have to do things differently, in the interests of our shared future."
Margaret McGovern, Irish/Californian entrepreneur and investor, and co-founder of Pywymic: "Investing in fossil energy is the worst kind of short-term thinking. I call it 'disaster capitalism'. The very real costs of the damage caused are not reflected on the balance sheet."
International support
The international DivestInvest movement also supports the Dutch pledgers:
Justin Rockefeller, Chairman, The ImPact; Member of the Investment Committee, Rockefeller Brothers Fund: "I'm thrilled to be joined in the DivestInvest movement by Dutch investors who recognize that what people and institutions do with money has moral consequences, including how we earn, spend, donate, and invest it. By aligning their values and their investments, they're empowering others to follow their moral leadership, and addressing the existential threat posed by climate change."
Mark Sainsbury trustee of the Mark Leonard, JJ Charitable and Linbury Trusts: "While divesting from fossil fuels is relatively easy in practice, speaking out publicly about it takes courage and leadership. These Dutch families are sending a powerful message - it's time for industry, society and the financial markets to move beyond fossil fuels for the benefit of everyone."
Reactions of the initiators
Liset Meddens of Fossielvrij NL: "It is wonderful to see that wealthy Dutch investors are now also turning their backs on the fossil industry. The movement is growing very rapidly. We can only break the power of the fossil multinationals and create political space for effective measures against climate change if we show leadership and make tough and clear choices."
Danielle Hirsch of Both ENDS is delighted that the pledge has been signed by so many people. "The climate movement is multifaceted and has its roots in all parts of society. With this pledge, a group of Dutch investors who do not like to be in the spotlight are sending out a strong signal in the public debate; if we want to stop climate change, everyone will have to take action. It is no longer acceptable that we make economic profit from an industry that is putting our future at risk."
What next?
The pledgers are all addressing their promise in their own ways. The ultimate aim is of course to persuade many more people and organisations to stop investing in the fossil industry. They are doing that by drawing attention to the issue in their own networks of contacts, organisations and partners. Together with the initiators, they will also challenge banks, pension funds and other financial service providers to go green and want to make it possible for everyone to join the movement. People can already put their savings in an account at a green bank, and everyone can sign the worldwide DivestInvest pledge, committing themselves to take their savings out of the fossil industry within three years.
Three overarching reasons
The Dutch investors are making this pledge for three reasons:
- the moral conviction that we should leave all fossil reserves in the ground to avoid a catastrophic climate crisis,
- the financial-economic belief that the fossil industry is a declining market
- the fiduciary obligation to invest responsibly by taking long-term uncertainties seriously in current investment strategies.
About DivestInvest
DivestInvest is a worldwide movement supported in the Netherlands by an informal alliance of people, companies and organisations including Frank van Beuningen (Pymwymic), Stephen Brenninkmeijer (Willow Investments), Sarah Butler-Sloss (Ashden Trust), Mark Sainsbury (Mark Leonard Trust), Fossielvrij NL and Both ENDS, and with financial support from Stichting DOEN.
The worldwide movement includes organisations like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a large number of religious institutions, the pension funds of New York and other cites, and a wide range of universities including the London School of Economics. Since the movement was formed in 2012, some eight billion dollars have already been disinvested in the fossil industry.
See here the pledge that the investors have signed.
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /
The Climate lawsuit against Shell
Both ENDS is co-plaintiff in the climate lawsuit being brought by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth The Netherlands) against Shell to stop the company from causing harm to the climate. Shell has known about the severity of the climate problem for many years but continues with the climate-polluting extraction of oil and gas. By doing so, it undermines efforts to achieve the climate goals. Companies have a responsibility not to cause serious harm to society and the climate. Because Shell refuses to take that responsibility itself, we are taking the company to court. In brief, we demand that Shell has zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and adapts its activities to be fully aligned with the climate goals in the Paris Agreement.
-
Dossier /
Paris Proof Export Support
Almost two-thirds of the export credit insurances that Atradius DSB provided in the 2012-2018 period went to the fossil energy sector. That is contrary to the climate agreements that the Netherlands signed in Paris.
-
Press release / 26 October 2021
New report: 33.7 billion euro's worth of assets have committed to fossil fuel divestment
Today, on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, the fossil fuel divest-invest movement released a new report that details how institutions representing an unprecedented total of EUR 33.7 trillion worth of assets have now committed to some form of fossil fuel divestment, a figure that's higher than the annual GDP of the United States and China combined.
-
News / 27 November 2020
Climate case against Shell is particularly crucial for the Global South
Next week, the climate case brought against Royal Dutch Shell by Dutch environmental organisation Milieudefensie is due to start. Milieudefensie hopes to force the company to stop causing dangerous climate change and adopt a more sustainable course. Six Dutch organisations have decided to become co-plaintiffs in the case. They include ActionAid and Both ENDS, organisations that work outside the Netherlands on human rights, gender equality, environment and sustainable development. Though, at first glance, the case may not seem relevant to them, nothing is farther from the truth, as Nils Mollema of ActionAid and Niels Hazekamp of Both ENDS explain.
-
Press release / 5 April 2019
Press release: Friends of the Earth Netherlands submits legal summons in climate case against Shell
The Hague, April 5, 2019 - Today Friends of the Earth Netherlands will deliver a court summons to Shell to legally compel the company to cease its destruction of the climate, on behalf of more than 30,000 people from 70 countries. A 236 page complaint will be delivered to Shell's International Headquarters in the Hague this afternoon by Friends of the Earth Netherlands, ActionAid NL, Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL, Greenpeace NL,Young Friends of the Earth NL, Waddenvereniging and a large group of co-plaintiffs.
-
Publication / 26 October 2021
-
Publication / 14 May 2017
-
Blog / 19 September 2019
A forgotten opportunity worth 1.5 billion euros
Reward high-risk international business projects investing in a green future and stop support for the international fossil industry
The climate is 'hot'. Everyone is talking about it. 'Everyone needs to do something' calls the government in its recently started public campaign. Good plan. Let's really do something. For a start, we can stop supporting international trade in fossil energy by our own multinationals. That would free up 1.5 billion euros which we could use to combat climate change on an international scale and at the same time give our own innovative businesses a boost. Today's Vergeten Klimaattafel (Forgotten Climate Roundtable) will discuss the opportunities for the Netherlands to have a real impact. And those opportunities are enormous. Because our big money and our influence lie beyond our borders.
-
Publication / 9 May 2018
-
Dossier /
Making pension funds more sustainable
Pension funds have a lot of influence because of their enormous assets. Both ENDS therefore wants pension funds such as the Dutch ABP to withdraw their investments from the fossil industry and to invest sustainably instead.
-
Press release / 18 November 2019
Press release: Government undermines its own climate policy with export credit insurance
The Netherlands provides export credit insurances and guarantees worth 1.5 billion euros annually to Dutch companies active in the oil and gas sector abroad. This support amounts to one and a half times the annual amount that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Rutte mobilises for climate initiatives worldwide. The intended effects of Dutch international climate policy are more than offset by this fossil export support. That is the conclusion of a new report from Both ENDS which is published today.
-
Press release / 26 May 2021
Historic victory: judge forces Shell to drastically reduce CO2 emissions
The Hague, 26 May 2021 - For the first time in history, a judge has held a corporation liable for causing dangerous climate change. Today, as a result of legal action brought by Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) together with 17,000 co-plaintiffs and six other organisations (ActionAid Netherlands, Both ENDS, Fossil Free Netherlands, Greenpeace Netherlands, Young Friends of The Earth Netherlands and the Wadden Sea Association) the court in The Hague ruled that Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% within 10 years. This historic verdict has enormous consequences for Shell and other big polluters globally.
-
News / 28 May 2021
Ruling in the climate case against Shell is a victory for the whole world
"Historical verdict", "unique decision", "landslide victory". Superlatives flew to our ears in the media yesterday, when it became clear that the judge ruled that Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by the year 2030. For the plaintiffs, including Both ENDS, the verdict is very hopeful, as it was for many co-plaintiffs and citizens interested in this court case.
-
Press release / 7 May 2019
Press release: European stakeholders call for immediate action in face of climate emergency
Brussels, 7 May 2019 - In an unprecedented Climate Action Call published today, a broad coalition is urging European leaders to take decisive action to respond to the climate emergency. Hundreds of European cities, regions, businesses, youth and faith groups and civil society organisations working on climate, human rights, litigation, mobilization, sports and health call upon leaders to profoundly alter the way we run our societies and economies to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.
-
Publication / 14 May 2017
-
Publication / 9 May 2018
-
Dossier /
Uganda’s Energy Future
Despite the existence of many hydropower dams, foreign investments and large government spending on energy, and new plans for hydropower, oil and gas projects, the vast majority of rural Uganda still remains without electricity. Together with our local partners we are striving towards a sustainable energy strategy for Uganda that starts from the needs and wishes of local communities.
-
News / 2 February 2020
How to become a fossil-free investor
The world has to stop using fossil fuels, but investment in the sector continues unabated. Investors of all kinds, including banks, insurance companies and pension funds, are hesitant about making the change to sustainable energy and are not sure where to start. In the autumn of 2019, together with the DivestInvest Network and Sustainable Energy (Denmark), Both ENDS published a report entitled ‘Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Businesses’. The report describes five criteria to test whether companies in the fossil sector are actively taking steps to wind down their fossil activities. The criteria are helping investors to choose investments that are in line with the Paris goal of restricting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We spoke to Lars Jensen, Senior Analyst at Sustainable Energy and lead author of the report.
-
Dossier /
Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
-
News / 9 July 2024
Help the fight for a world without fossil fuels: sign this initiative
The climate crisis can no longer be ignored. With record temperatures and unprecedented extreme weather conditions, we see the devastating effects of climate change all around the world. The Netherlands has recently faced both unprecedented heatwaves and prolonged rainfall that have severely impacted our agricultural sector. These events painfully highlight: we must act now.