ASHLAND, Ore. -- Ashland has joined in the nationwide movement to divest from fossil fuel. Tuesday night, the city council became the second in Oregon to pass a divestment resolution.
“We’re not going to invest, but we’re going to still use fossil fuels?” he asked.
Ashland does not invest directly in fossil fuel interests, but it does pass local funds on to the state, which puts that money in a broad array of investments. The resolution targets two of these funds: PERS, Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System, and the Local Government Investment Program, which is governed by the Oregon Short Term Fund Board.
Impacts of divestment are a matter of some debate. There’s skepticism that dumping the investments has any effect on the bottom line of the industry. If one investor sells, another would just buy the shares instead. And Wheeler argues that by keeping money in oil, coal and natural gas firms, investors have a voice in how the companies do business.
Her group first brought the issue of fossil fuel divestment to the Ashland City Council earlier this year.
Conway said nationally the movement was slow to catch on, with only a handful of small colleges pledging to divest. Conway said the votes in Ashland and Eugene will encourage others.
“Small cities like Ashland can realize that they can have a voice also,” she said.
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