By Onward Oregon
Although Governors Kitzhaber and Inslee are publicly concerned about fossil fuel exports, other branches of our state governments are investing in infrastructure supporting these activities. Thanks to our friends at Sightline Institute, we see that Oregon and Washington have made substantial investments in enhancing fossil fuel export facilities.
The Oregon Investment Council (OIC) invests all State of Oregon funds, including the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund and the State Accident Insurance Fund. According to the Sightline report, OIC has invested millions of dollars in companies that are building infrastructure to export fossil fuels. These include Tidewater, Stonepeak, and Casper Crude to Rail. These investments threaten our local environment and stand in stark contrast to our state’s reputation for promoting energy conservation and renewable energy sources.
Divestment from fossil fuel corporations has two goals, one moral, the other financial. The moral goal is to publicize the suicidal business plans of the fossil fuel companies, which will force our children and grandchildren to inhabit an unlivable planet. The financial goal is to escape the inevitable crash in their stock prices when the public finally realizes that 80% of their assets must stay in the ground.
Oregon needs to divest its State investments from such companies. If you’d like to help build the campaign to do this, email lenny@onwardoregon.org.Φ
The mission of Onward Oregon is contribute to a greater awareness among Oregonians of issues related to the economy, education, elections, healthcare, environment, and equality in our state, and encourage them to take action on these issues.