Resources

Photo of supporters of SB 252 in front of the California Capitol building

Unions Support Divestment to Protect California State Worker Pensions

January 26, 2024

Public employees deserve a secure pension, safe working conditions, and a livable place to retire. While fossil fuel investments are extremely volatile and risky, fossil fuel pollution drives climate chaos in California — including extreme heat, flooding, toxic air pollution, water contamination, and wildfires. Our pension funds actively investing in fossil fuels is undermining our…

A pair of hands stacking coins into three columns

Financial 101 – What Divesting California’s Public Pensions from Fossil Fuels Means 

October 20, 2023

What’s a public pension? What does public pension divestment mean? Why is this good for workers? Has divestment worked before? Get your questions answered with our Financial 101. Read below, or download the PDF. What is a public pension? What are CalPERS and CalSTRS? A public pension is a pension system for public employees –…

A photo of the California State Capitol building

Frequently Asked Questions – Senate Bill 252, The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act

October 10, 2023

CalPERS has roughly $9.4 billion dollars, and CalSTRS $5.4 billion dollars ($14.8 billion in all) of stock and bond investments in the top 200 coal, oil and gas production companies.

At the The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis conference, a group of six people stands on a stage facing out. At front is Zara Ahsan, youth divestment advocate, holding a climate clock which reads: “6 YEARS 29 DAYS 19:56:29 | CA WORKERS WOULD BE $9.6B RICHER.”

REPORT: CalPERS & CalSTRS lost over $9.6 billion by not divesting from fossil fuels 10 years ago

June 28, 2023

On June 28, 2023, the University of Waterloo released a groundbreaking report revealing that by not divesting, CalPERS lost $4.7 billion in missed returns, or $3,163 per beneficiary. CalSTRS lost over $4.8 billion in missed returns, or $5,114 per beneficiary over the last ten years, by not removing fossil fuels from their investment portfolio.

Photo. Firefighter is shown in silhouette against flames in background.

Promises, Promises: Evaluating CalPERS’ Climate Engagements

November 7, 2022

This report looks at CalPERS’ proxy voting patterns and companies’ reports on greenhouse gas emissions to determine the effects of engagement. The report concludes that engagement alone is unlikely to convince fossil fuel companies to transform at the speed and scale required.

Fossil Free California June 2022 Issue titled California Pensions Fail to Engage

California Pensions Fail to Engage: A review of CalPERS’ and CalSTRS’ votes against shareholder climate resolutions

June 8, 2022

Read the full report. As the impacts of climate change begin to wreak havoc on our bisophere, the fossil fuel divestment movement has gained remarkable momentum. Globally, 1,500 institutions representing over $40 trillion in assets have already committed to some level of divestment from the fossil fuel industry.1 Despite over a decade of pressure from…

Callout that reads Hyberbole in the Hearings: Pension Funds Exaggerate the Cost of Divestment

What Does Divestment Cost? Misinformation from CalPERS and CalSTRS

May 9, 2022

The “fiscal impact” analysis for the Appropriations Committee in the state Senate or Assembly can make or break a bill. For divestment bills, CalPERS and CalSTRS have repeatedly given imprecise, incorrect, and inflated figures on the costs of divestment, including in the numbers reported to the Appropriations Committee for SB 1173, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill.

Graph of CalSTRS losses

CalSTRS Loses Over $1.63B on Fossil Fuel Stocks Since July 2019

May 19, 2020

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has lost over $1.63B since July 2019 from investments in fossil fuel companies, according to new analysis by Fossil Free California.

CalPERS Corporate Knights Report

August 22, 2019

CalPERS Corporate Knights report demonstrates that investment in fossil fuels have lost CalPERS billions of dollars during the past decade.

Cover of Report on Financial Risk of Fossil Fuel Assets for CalPERS

Financial Risk of CalPERS’ Fossil Fuel Assets

July 8, 2019

Clair Brown’s advanced economics students at UC Berkeley released a report detailing three factors contributing to CalPERS’ financial risks and the societal costs of fossil fuel asset ownership.