Combating climate change through a duty to divest

Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems

Volumn 49, Issue 2, 2016, Pages 295-341

  Sarang, Surbhi ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 84962082150     PISSN: 00101923     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (176)

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6. See UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (1992), http://unfccc.int/files/essential-background/background-publications-htmlpdf/application/pdf/conveng.pdf [http://perma.cc/H8VZ-N5ZF].
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8. See also JOHN H. KNOX, UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR, MAPPING REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS (2014), http://srenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Climate-Change-mapping-report-15-August-final.docx [http://perma.cc/54XK-YT67].
9. SUBMISSION OF THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE 21ST CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE 2(Nov. 26, 2015), http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ClimateChange/KeyMessages-on-HR-CC.pdf [https://perma.cc/683M-BH3T].
10. See Joe Romm, McKibben Must-Read: 'Global-Warming's Terrifying New Math', CLIMATE PROGRESS (July 23, 2012, 6:40 PM), http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/23/565751/mckibben-must-read-globalwarming039s-terrifying-new-math [http://perma.cc/56GP-DFAX];
11. Michelle Y. Raji, Timeline: Fossil Fuels Divestment, THE HARVARD CRIMSON (Oct. 2, 2014), http://www.thecrimson. com/article/2014/10/2/timeline-fossil-fuels-divestment [http://perma.cc/QHZ6-D3T9].
12. Bill McKibben, Global Warming's Terrifying New Math, ROLLING STONE (July 19, 2012), http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719?page=4 [http://perma.cc/K6SK-LCYX].
13. DO THE MATH TOUR, http://math.350.org [http://perma.cc/7WZL-L9MK] (last visited Jan. 11, 2016).
14. What is Fossil Fuel Divestment?, FOSSIL FREE, http://gofossilfree.org/what-isfossil-fuel-divestment [http://perma.cc/ST3C-K4EY].
15. DO THE MATH TOUR, supra note 15.
16. Bill McKibben, The Case for Fossil-Fuel Divestment, ROLLING STONE (Feb. 22, 2013), http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-fossil-fuel-divestment-20130222 [http://perma.cc/CAD5-UACQ].
17. Claire Moser & Matt Lee-Ashley, The Fossil-Fuel Industry Spent Big to Set the Anti-Environment Agenda of the Next Congress, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS (Dec. 22, 2014), https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2014/12/22/103667/thefossil-fuel-industry-spent-big-to-set-the-anti-environment-agenda-of-the-next-congress [http://perma.cc/M3C2-2TE9].
18. See Neela Banerjee et al., Exxon's Own Research Confirmed Fossil Fuels' Role in Global Warming Decades Ago, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS (Sept. 16, 2015), http://insideclimatenews.org/news/15092015/Exxons-own-researchconfirmed-fossil-fuels-role-in-global-warming [http://perma.cc/7JZZ-S3WD].
19. About Fossil Free, FOSSIL FREE, http://gofossilfree.org/about-fossil-free [http://perma.cc/E3NS-STND].
20. Stanford University, Stanford to Divest from Coal Companies, STANFORD NEWS (May 6, 2014), http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/may/divest-coal-trustees-050714.html [http://perma.cc/N5C6-WN96].
21. See ARABELLA ADVISORS, MEASURING THE GROWTH OF THE GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT AND CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT MOVEMENT (Sept. 2015) at 1, http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Measuring-the-Growth-ofthe-Divestment-Movement.pdf [http://perma.cc/6AF2-DJ5W].
22. Melanie Mattauch, In the space of just 10 weeks, FOSSIL FREE (Dec. 2, 2015), http://gofossilfree.org/in-the-space-of-just-10-weeks [http://perma.cc/DJ27-JV8T].
23. See, e.g., Desmond Tutu, Divesting From Injustice, HUFFINGTON POST: THE WORLD POST (May 25, 2011, 4:10 PM), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/desmond-tutu/divesting-from-injustice-b-534994.html [http://perma.cc/H6V9-GMTJ] ("In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of nonviolent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime.");
24. Eric Hendey, Does Divestment Work?, HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW (Oct. 2, 2012, 12:04 AM), http://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/does-divestment-work [http://perma.cc/SC5H-T3BJ] ("Divestment greatly increased public visibility surrounding the injustices of South Africa's apartheid government. It is almost certain that worldwide popular opposition in the 1980s contributed to the decline of apartheid, and divestment was an important piece of this puzzle.").
25. Siew Hong Teoh et al., The Effect of Socially Activist Investment Policies on the Financial Markets: Evidence from the South African Boycott, 72 THE J. OF BUS. 35 (1999).
26. Victor Luckerson, How College Kids Helped Divest $50 Billion from Fossil Fuels, TIME (Sept. 22, 2014), http://time.com/3419456/fossil-fuel-divestment-climate-change [http://perma.cc/VZK6-YCWD].
27. See N. Wander & R. E. Malone, Fiscal Versus Social Responsibility: How Philip Morris Shaped the Public Funds Divestment Debate, 15 TOBACCO CONTROL 231, 238 (2006)
28. Katie Gilbert, Balancing the Moral and Financial Sides of Gun Divestment, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR (July 26, 2014), http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/3365531/investors-pensions/balancing-the-moral-and-financial-sides-of-gundivestment.html?eventlogin=Login&login=1&actionname=login&eid=E017#.VQUCdmYhzOo [http://perma.cc/L32Q-P6AU].
29. Zeina Azzam, Israel Facing New Divestment Support in US, AL JAZEERA (July 24, 2014, 7:10 AM), http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/07/presbyterian-israelfacing-new-divestment-support-us-20147238133786329.html [http://perma.cc/5SKV-3AUA].
30. See U. S. GOV'T ACCOUNTABILITY OFF., GAO-10-742, SUDAN DIVESTMENT: U. S. INVESTORS SOLD ASSETS BUT COULD BENEFIT FROM INCREASED DISCLOSURE REGARDING COMPANIES' TIES TO SUDAN 2 (2010)
31. Christof Heyns, Divestment in the United States: Trust Law and the Law of Charities, 23 COMP. & INT'L L. J. S. AFR. 34 (1990).
32. See generally Benjamin J. Richardson, Do the Fiduciary Duties of Pension Funds Hinder Socially Responsible Investment?, 22 BANKING & FIN. L. REV. 145(2007), http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/cel10-richardson. pdf [http://perma.cc/VJ4L-9FGB].
33. Lewis D. Solomon & Karen C. Coe, Social Investments by Nonprofit Corporations and Charitable Trusts: A Legal and Business Primer for Foundation Managers and Other Nonprofit Fiduciaries, 66 UMKC L. REV. 213, 214 (1997).
34. Benjamin J. Richardson, Reforming Climate Finance through Investment Codes of Conduct, 27 WIS. INT'L L. J. 483, 488 (2009).
35. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE ISSUES INTO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT 25(2005), http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/freshfields-legal-resp-20051123.pdf [http://perma.cc/5B5Q-M9MA].
36. See, e.g., Joakim Sandberg, Socially Responsible Investment and Fiduciary Duty: Putting the Freshfields Report into Perspective, 101 J. BUS. ETHICS 143, 146 (2011) ("In a recent survey among American pension fund trustees, for example, as many as 45% of respondents indicated that considerations of fiduciary duty were their main reason for not engaging more actively in SRI.").
37. See, e.g., Drew Faust, Fossil Fuel Divestment Statement, HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Oct. 3, 2013) http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels [http://perma.cc/ZY4P-2H9N].
38. See, e.g., Ivo Welch, Why Divestment Fails, N. Y. TIMES (May 9, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/10/opinion/why-divestment-fails.html [http://perma.cc/9KSV-S9FV] ("Individual divestments, either as economic or symbolic pressure, have never succeeded in getting companies or countries to change.");
39. Daniel Fischel, The Feel Good Folly of Fossil Fuel Divestment, WALL ST. J. (Feb. 9, 2015), http://www.wsj.com/articles/daniel-r-fischel-the-feel-good-folly-of-fossil-fueldivestment-1423527484 [http://perma.cc/RHP3-ECFZ] ("Over the long run, stock prices are primarily driven by fundamentals, not the decisions of particular investors to hold or sell. Moreover, the vast majority of institutions currently attempting to implement fossilfuel divestment policies hold a very small share of stock in the companies that are targets of the campaign. Divestment would have little or no effect on company share prices.").
40. See, e.g., Anne Stausboll, Selling Out of Fossil Fuels No Solution for Climate Change, FINANCIAL TIMES (Mar. 22, 2015), http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/def47f8c-bb8d-11e4-b95c-00144feab7de.htmlxzz3xQb1RVoR [http://perma.cc/42KP-SU6H] (The chief executive officer for the California Public Employees' Retirement System explains, "As a longterm investor, a seat at the table is the most effective way to shape how our investment capital gets put to use in a sustainable manner.");
41. Scott Wisor, Why Climate Change Divestment Will Not Work, ETHICS & INT'L AFFAIRS (Sept. 22, 2014), http://www.ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org/2014/why-climate-change-divestment-willnot-work [http://perma.cc/GW7Y-YXG7].
42. See, e.g., Divesting from Fossil Fuels Will Soon be a Fiduciary Duty, GREEN MARKET ORACLE (Oct. 2, 2014), http://www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2014/10/divestingfrom-fossil-fuels-will-soon. html [http://perma.cc/9AQM-KEZM].
43. See, e.g., Bevis Longstreth, The Financial Case for Divestment of Fossil Fuel Companies by Endowment Fiduciaries, HUFFINGTON POST: THE BLOG (Nov. 2, 2013, 2:52 PM), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bevis-longstreth/the-financial-case-for-di-b-4203910.html [http://perma.cc/AL25-ND95].
44. See, e.g., Ning Ding et al., When Does a Stock Boycott Work? Evidence From a Clinical Study of the Sudan Divestment Campaign (2014), http://ssrn. com/abstract=2469575 [http://perma.cc/AM4A-QUJV] (authors conduct an empirical examination of the impact of the Sudan divestment campaign and find that it decreased breadth of ownership and stock prices).
45. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Harvard Climate Justice Coal. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Coll., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Mass. Sup. Ct. 2015) (No. 14-3620).
46. Meinhard v. Salmon, 164 N. E. 545 (N. Y. 1928).
47. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 102-03.
48. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 104.
49. Evelyn Brody, Charity Governance: What's Trust Law Got To Do With It?, 80 CHI-KENT L. REV. 641, 646 (2005).
50. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS: P. I. R. § 227
51. (AM. LAW INST. 1992) ("[S]ocial considerations may be taken into account in investing the funds of charitable trusts to the extent the charitable purposes would justify an expenditure of trust funds for the social issue or cause in question or to the extent the investment decision can be justified on grounds of advancing, financially or operationally, a charitable activity conducted by the trust.").
52. UNIF. PRUDENT MGMT. OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
53. Legislative Enactment Status, Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, UNIF. LAW COMM'N, http://uniformlaws.org/LegislativeMap. aspx?title=Prudent% 20Management%20of%20Institutional%20Funds%20Act [http://perma.cc/JMF7-QGSW] (last visited Nov. 28, 2015).
54. UNIF. PRUDENT MGMT. OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT § 2 cmt. 4 (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
55. UNIF. PRUDENT MGMT. OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT § 3 (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
56. UNIF. PRUDENT MGMT. OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT § 3 (c) (1) (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
57. UNIF. PRUDENT MGMT. OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT § 3 (e) (1) (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 1994).
58. See UNIF. PRUDENT INV'R ACT § 2 (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
59. Mark Kramer & Anne Stetson, A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE LAW OF MISSION INVESTING FOR U. S. FOUNDATIONS 1(2008), http://www.issuelab.org/click/download1/brief-guide-to-the-law-of-mission-investing-for-us-foundations.
60. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 102.
61. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 90 (2007).
62. UNIF. PRUDENT INV'R ACT prefatory note (UNIF. LAW COMM'N 2006).
63. See id.; Robert J. Aalberts & Percy S. Poon, The New Prudent Investor Rule and the Modern Portfolio Theory: A New Direction for Fiduciaries, 34 AM. BUS. L. J. 39, 48-49 (1996).
64. See also FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 8.
65. For a discussion on the duty to diversify, see John H. Langbein, The Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the Future of Trust Investing, 81 IOWA L. REV. 641, 646-49 (1996);
66. John Langbein & Richard Posner, Social Investing and the Law of Trusts, 79 MICH. L. REV. 72, 88-89 (1980);
67. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 90 (b) (2007) ("In making and implementing investment decisions, the trustee has a duty to diversify the investments of the trust unless, under the circumstances, it is prudent not to do so.").
68. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 78 (1) (2007).
69. See, e.g., Robert H. Jerry & O. Maurice Joy, Social Investing and Lessons from South Africa Divestment: Rethinking the Limitations on Fiduciary Discretion, 66 OR. L. REV. 685, 699 (1987) ("The proper balance of return and risk depends on many circumstances. Nevertheless, it is widely understood, despite some opinions to the contrary, that achieving the maximum rate of return and avoiding undue risk are the sole and exclusive objectives of the trustee.") (footnotes omitted).
70. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS: P. I. R. § 170 cmt. q (1992).
71. see also RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 90 cmt. c (2007) ("The strict duty of loyalty... [prohibits] investing in a manner that is intended to serve interests other than those of the beneficiaries or the purposes of the settlor.") (citation omitted).
72. Adam Kanzer, Divesting is an Exercise in Real Fiduciary Care, PENSIONS & INV. (Feb. 18, 2013), http://www.pionline.com/article/20130218/PRINT/302189995/divesting-is-an-exercise-inreal-fiduciary-care [http://perma.cc/L7BS-FLZC] ("Newtown presents a very concrete example of what a violation of the duty of loyalty looks like. If you use my money to make a weapon that kills my child, don't tell me that in 20 years I'll retire with more money as a result. If you claim that decision was made in my best interest, you have no right to call yourself a fiduciary.").
73. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS: P. I. R. § 227 cmt. c (1992) ("[S]ocial considerations may be taken into account in investing the funds of charitable trusts to the extent the charitable purposes would justify an expenditure of trust funds for the social issue or cause in question or to the extent the investment decision can be justified on grounds of advancing, financially or operationally, a charitable activity conducted by the trust.") (citation omitted).
74. See, e.g., FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 12 ("Courts in the UK have recognised that trusts such as charities are entitled to exclude investments that conflict with their values and that the concept of beneficiaries' 'best interests' under a general pension trust may extend beyond their financial interests to include their 'views on moral and social matters'. In a similar way, US law permits investments to be excluded where the beneficiaries so consent.") (footnote omitted).
75. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 79 (2007).
76. See FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 113 ("[A]n important consideration for investment decision-makers is the duty of impartiality between different beneficiaries, especially as it applies to different classes of beneficiaries over time. There is an argument, recognized in US case law, that this duty incorporates aspects of intergenerational fairness....[A] Federal District Court held that a pension fund must be managed with a view to meeting future as well as present obligations.") (footnotes omitted).
77. Divestment - Legality of Divestment Statutes - Court Upholds City Divestment Statutes Against Federal and State Constitutional Challenges. - Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System v. Mayor of Baltimore City, 317 Md. 72, 562 A.2d 720(1989), 103 HARV. L. REV. 817, 819 (1990).
78. Withers v. Teachers' Ret. Sys. of City of N. Y., 447 F. Supp. 1248 (S. D. N. Y. 1978)
79. aff'd mem., 595 F.2d 1210 (2d Cir. 1979).
80. But see 1982 Idaho Op. Att'y Gen. 82 (1982) ("'[N]either the protection of the jobs of the City's teachers nor the general public welfare were factors which motivated the trustees in their investment decision. The extension of aid to the City was simply a means - the only means in their assessment - to the legitimate end of preventing the exhaustion of the assets of the [Teachers' Retirement System] in the interest of all the beneficiaries.'")
81. (quoting Withers, 447 F. Supp. at 1256, 1259).
82. 562 A.2d 720, 737 (Md. Ct. App. 1989)
83. cert. denied, 493 U. S. 1093 (1990).
84. Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Fiduciary Standard Under ERISA in Considering Economically Targeted Investments, 29 C. F. R. § 2509. 2015-01 (2015);
85. Trustees Grapple with Socially Responsible Investing, BERMAN DEVALERIO, http://www.bermandevalerio.com/news/firm-newsletter/70-trustees-grapple-with-sociallyresponsible-investing [http://perma.cc/Q96U-BQ2S];
86. Tom Perez, Remarks by U. S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez Press Conference Announcing New ERISA Guidance On Economically Targeted Investments (Oct. 22, 2015), http://www.dol.gov/-sec/media/speeches/20151022-Perez.htm [http://perma.cc/JBF8-BMTT].
87. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34.
88. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 12.
89. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 14.
90. A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE: A TRUSTEE'S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE RISK 19(2005), http://www.iigcc.org/files/publication-files/A-climate-for-change-a-trustees-guide.pdf [http://perma.cc/AWK5-EX6M] ("The materiality of climate change as outlined in this document clearly shows that climate change risk could have the potential to impact a Fund's investments over the long term. In addition, we suspect climate change risk is neither fully known nor understood and that it is not yet properly managed by the various groups involved in the ongoing management of pension scheme assets.").
91. But see ANNEX I - CRITIQUE OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY TO BECOME A FIDUCIARY CONSIDERATION 3, SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE INVESTMENT (Oct. 2013), http://www.srinvestment.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Fiduciary-Duty-Mercer-Report-3.pdf [http://perma.cc/C92D-TUNN] (arguing that climate change impacts are "inherently difficult to quantify" and that the fiduciary has discretion to determine whether climate change constitutes a risk and how to deal with the risk).
92. See, e.g., Why Divestment, DIVEST HARVARD, http://divestharvard.com/whydivestment [http://perma.cc/DJ9Y-UUCN];
93. Marc Gunther, Why the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement May Ultimately Win, YALE ENVIRONMENT 360(July 27, 2015), http://e360.yale.edu/feature/why-the-fossil-fuel-divestment-movement-may-ultimately-win/2898 [http://perma.cc/KZ2K-HEN8] ("The divestment campaign aims, first, to build a bigger and stronger climate movement, and, second, to put the fossil fuel industry on the defensive by attacking its reputation and challenging the long-term viability of its business in a climate-constrained world").
94. Atif Ansar et al., STRANDED ASSETS AND THE FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN: WHAT DOES DIVESTMENT MEAN FOR THE VALUATION OF FOSSIL FUEL ASSETS?, 9-15(2013), http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research-programmes/stranded-assets/SAP-divestmentreport-final.pdf [http://perma.cc/9AL6-DENM].
95. David Keith, The Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign Can Succeed Where Politics Failed, BOSTON REV. (Dec. 23, 2006), http://bostonreview.net/blog/david-keith-fossil-fueluniversity-endowment-divestment [http://perma.cc/L4HH-J8PA] ("My hope is that the divestment movement can, with other grassroots efforts, grow into a social movement capable of mobilizing a small but active minority to push climate policy at the ballot box."). In fact, activists frequently state that they have no explicit aim to impact stock price.
96. See, e.g., Francesca Rheannon, Fossil Fuel Divestment as a Lever for Change: A Conversation with Bob Massie, CSWWIRE TALKBACK (June 6, 2014), http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/1377-fossil-fuel-divestment-as-a-lever-for-change-a-conversation-with-bob-massie [http://perma.cc/G4HS-XNRQ] (Bob Massie states: "I have been studying [divestment] for more than 20 years and I have never encountered any advocate for divestment who believes it will affect the stock price.").
97. Imogen Rose-Smith, Climate Change and the Fossil Fuel Divesture Movement, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR (Apr. 15, 2014), http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article/3330970/Investors-Endowments-and-Foundations/Climate-Change-and-the-Fossil-Fuel-Divestiture-Movement.html?ArticleId=3330970&single=true&login=1&eventlogin=Login&eid=E017&actionname=login#.VLaYqSchyVC [http://perma.cc/6XPF-57NP].
98. Benjamin J. Richardson, Keeping Ethical Investment Ethical: Regulatory Issues for Investing for Sustainability, Journal of Business Ethics, 87 J. BUS. ETHICS 555, 557 (2009).
99. Jeffrey Sachs & Lisa Sachs, The Responsible Investor's Guide to Climate Change, PROJECT SYNDICATE, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fossil-fuelsdivestment-renewables-by-jeffrey-d-sachs-and-lisa-sachs-2015-01#A8JATRhJqFWsfDy4.99 [http://perma.cc/2Y29-V7TC].
100. Geraldine Fabrikant, Yale Fund Takes Aim at Climate Change, N. Y. TIMES (Sept. 7, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/business/yale-fund-takes-aim-at-climatechange.html?-r=0 [http://perma.cc/A85N-UFRT].
101. David Hess, Public Pensions and the Promise of Shareholder Activism for the Next Frontier of Corporate Governance: Sustainable Economic Development, Ross Sch. of Bus. 16(Working Paper Series, Paper No. 1080, 2007), http://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstract-id=988792 [http://perma.cc/7GHT-N922].
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104. Cynthia E. Clark & Elise Perrault Crawford, Influencing Climate Change Policy: The Effect of Shareholder Pressure and Firm Environmental Performance, 51 BUS. AND SOC'Y 148, 152(2012), http://bas.sagepub.com/content/51/1/148.abstract [perma.cc/3TF2-XAUK].
105. Roy A. Schotland, Divergent Investing for Pension Funds, 36 FIN. ANALYSTS J. 29, 37 (1980).
106. Cutler J. Cleveland & Richard Reibstein, The Path to Fossil Fuel Divestment for Universities: Climate Responsible Investment 41(2015), http://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=2565941 [http://perma.cc/5SE7-ZQCV] ("Asking the oil and coal companies to 'green' their supply chain will not solve the problem. We need to stop producing oil and coal. Shareholder advocacy, if it is to contribute to solutions, must be used to influence a company to transition to new business activities.").
107. Resources on Divestment, SWARTHMORE MOUNTAIN JUSTICE, http://swatmj.org/resourceson-divestment [http://perma.cc/EF6A-JJV7].
108. See also Debunking Myths about Fossil Fuel Divestment, FOSSIL FREE, http://gofossilfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/debunkingdivestment-myths.pdf [http://perma.cc/T6PX-E66M] (last visited Sept. 15, 2015).
109. EXXONMOBIL, ENERGY AND CARBON - MANAGING THE RISKS, http://cdn. exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/files/energy-and-environment/report-energyand-carbon-managing-the-risks.pdf;
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112. Simon Evans, Why Fossil Fuel Divestment Won't be Easy, CARBON BRIEF (Aug. 8, 2014, 3:45 PM), http://www.carbonbrief.org/why-fossil-fuel-divestment-wont-be-easy/[http://perma.cc/Z4KF-DKG2].
113. See RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 90 (2007).
114. Alex Lenferna, Fossil Fuel Divestment Report for the Seattle City Employees' Retirement System 9(Oct. 2014), https://www.academia.edu/8651774/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-Report-for-the-Seattle-City-Employees-Retirement-System [http://perma.cc/ZZ25-3DTS].
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116. Aperio Group, BUILDING A CARBON-FREE EQUITY PORTFOLIO (2015), https://www.aperiogroup. com/resources-insights/topic/carbon-divestment/building-carbonfree-equity-portfolio-updated [http://perma.cc/AE7U-U5TF].
117. Beyond Fossil Fuels: The Investment Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment, IMPAX ASSET MGMT. 1, http://www.impaxam.com/sites/default/files/20130704%20Impax% 20White%20Paper%20fossil%20fuel%20divestment%20FINAL.pdf [http://perma.cc/6NDQ-CJ5M].
118. SEC, Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, 75 Fed. Reg. 6290 (Feb. 8, 2010).
119. And that will move investment." John Kerry, Remarks at COP21 Plenary (Dec. 12, 2015) (transcript available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/12/250584.htm [http://perma.cc/RRS9-UEYC]).
120. Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, supra note 181.
121. See also A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE: A TRUSTEE'S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE RISK, supra note 113 (analyzing climate risks to businesses that could impact portfolio risks and returns).
122. UNEP FIN. INITIATIVE ASSET MGMT. WORKING GRP., SHOW ME THE MONEY: LINKING ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE FACTORS TO COMPANY VALUE 11(2006), http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/show-me-the-money.pdf [http://perma.cc/3JBS-DEEH].
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125. Jim Coburn & Jackie Cook, Cool Response: the SEC & Corporate Climate Change Reporting, CERES 5(2014), http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/cool-response-the-sec-corporate-climate-changereporting/view [http://perma.cc/EYN8-AJDQ].
126. Larry Milstein, Falling Oil Prices May Recast Divestment Debate, YALE DAILY NEWS (Jan. 20, 2015), http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/01/20/falling-oil-prices-recastdivestment-debate/[http://perma.cc/X5N2-7MKT].
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128. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TRUSTS § 88 (2007) ("A trustee can properly incur and pay expenses that are reasonable in amount and appropriate to the purposes and circumstances of the trust and to the experience, skills, responsibilities, and other circumstances of the trustee.").
129. See DANIEL R. FISCHEL, FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT: A COSTLY AND INEFFECTIVE INVESTMENT STRATEGY 3(2015), http://divestmentfacts.com/pdf/Fischel-Report.pdf [http://perma.cc/Z3RS-NX6U].
130. Grist Staff, Naomi Klein on the power of fossil fuel divestment, GRIST (Feb. 11, 2015), http://grist.org/climate-energy/naomi-klein-on-the-power-of-fossilfuel-divestment [http://perma.cc/FL3S-LN52].
131. See FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34.
132. See STERN REVIEW: THE ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ii. ("The evidence shows that ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth.... The earlier effective action is taken, the less costly it will be.").
133. Juliette Jowit & Patrick Wintour, Cost of Tackling Global Climate Change Has Doubled, Warns Stern, GUARDIAN (June 24, 2008, 7:01 PM), http://www.theguardian. com/environment/2008/jun/26/climatechange.scienceofclimatechange [http://perma.cc/DMZ3-GT7P].
134. See also U. S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN THE UNITED STATES: THE THIRD NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT (Jerry M. Melillo, Terese (T. C.) Richmond, and Gary W. Yohe eds., 2014) 131, nca2014.globalchange.gov [http://perma.cc/5QEU-EVR3] (explaining, for example: "The U. S. economy depends on the personal and freight mobility provided by the country's transportation system.... The national transportation system is composed of four main components that are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts[.]").
135. Claire Woods, Funding Climate Change: How Pension Fund Fiduciary Duty Masks Trustee Inertia and Short-Termism, in Corporate Governance Failures 264 (2011).
136. Keith L. Johnson & Frank Jan de Graaf, Modernizing Pension Fund Legal Standards for the Twenty-First Century, 2 ROTMAN INT'L J. PENSION MGMT, 44, 45(2009), available at http://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=1408691 [http://perma.cc/U4GR-E9VP].
137. Salar Ghahramani, Protecting Public Pension Funds from Divestment-Related Lawsuits: Exploring the State Laws of the United States, 16 PENSIONS 212(2011), available at http://www.palgrave-journals.com/pm/journal/v16/n3/full/pm201117a.html [http://perma.cc/D999-7PMG].
138. Benjamin J. Richardson, Putting Ethics into Environmental Law: Fiduciary Duties for Ethical Investment, 46 OSGOODE HALL L. J. 243, 277(2008), http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&context=ohlj [perma.cc/GD2C-6ZVW].
139. CFA INSTITUTE, CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF A PENSION SCHEME GOVERNING BODY 3(2015), http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2008.n3.1 [http://perma.cc/GYP5-X72J].
140. Benjamin J. Richardson, Climate Finance and its Governance: Moving to a Low Carbon Economy Through Socially Responsible Financing?, 58 THE INT'L AND COMP. LAW QUARTERLY 597, 608 (2009);
141. Annex I - Critique of the Campaign for Sustainability to Become a Fiduciary Consideration, supra note 113, at 3.
142. Jeffrey Sachs, Speech at Columbia University: What is a Moral University in the 21st Century? (Mar. 30, 2015) (transcript available at http://jeffsachs.org/2015/04/2748 [http://perma.cc/VZ3Y-GTF4]).
143. Alice Cherry, Ted Hamilton, and Kelsey Skaggs, Opinion: Litigation Could be the Newest Tool for the Divestment Movement, DAILY CLIMATE (Apr. 9, 2015), http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2015/04/divestment-harvard-universities-fossilfuels-coal [http://perma.cc/C7ZA-4ELM].
144. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (No. 14-3620);
145. John Schwartz, Harvard Students Move Fossil Fuel Stock Fight to Court, N. Y. TIMES (Nov. 19, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/us/harvard-students-move-fossil-fuel-divestment-fight-to-court.html [http://perma.cc/CTJ2-2GSS].
146. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief at 6-11, Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (No. 14-3620).
147. Harvard Climate Justice Coal. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Coll., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Mass. Sup. Ct. 2015).
148. Appellants' Application for Direct Appellate Review, Harvard Climate Justice Coal. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Coll., appeal docketed, No. 2015-P-0905 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 17, 2015).
149. Media Release, Asset Owners Disclosure Project, NGOs Challenge Pension Funds to Fulfil Legal Duties on Climate Risk (Apr. 27, 2015), http://aodproject.net/news/84-ngoschallenge-pension-funds.html [http://perma.cc/D5BJ-AAWH];
150. Michael J. Casey, On 'Global Divestment Day', Some Climate Activists Look to Courts, WALL ST. J.: MONEYBEAT (Feb. 13, 2014, 10:34 AM), http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/02/13/on-global-divestment-daysome-climate-activists-look-to-courts [http://perma.cc/GN3H-FPGN].
151. Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to the Harvard Defendants' Motion to Dismiss at 16, Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Jan. 6, 2015) (No. 14-3620H).
152. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief at 6
153. Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Nov. 19, 2014) (No. 14-3620).
154. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief at 8-9
155. Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Nov. 19, 2014) (No. 14-3620). However, if there were a duty to fulfill some other mission (as the students claim there is), the fiduciaries should work towards fulfilling that cause. Richardson, supra note 31, at 161.
156. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief at 11
157. Harvard Climate Justice Coal., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529 (Nov. 19, 2015) (No. 14-3620).
158. Harvard Climate Justice Coal. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Coll., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 529
159. ∗9 (Mass. Sup. Ct. 2015).
160. Appellant's Brief at 7, Harvard Climate Justice Coal. v. President and Fellows of Harvard Coll., appeal docketed, No. 2015-P-0905 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 17, 2015).
161. James Hansen et al., Assessing "Dangerous Climate Change": Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature, 8 PLOS ONE 1 (Dec. 2013).
162. See, e.g., Divesting from Fossil Fuels Will Soon Be a Fiduciary Duty, GREEN MARKET ORACLE (Oct. 2, 2014), http://www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2014/10/divestingfrom-fossil-fuels-will-soon. html [http://perma.cc/9KTK-YX3H].
163. Stanford University's Statement on Investment Responsibility, STANFORD UNIV. (June 2015), http://irsr.stanford.edu/documents/Stanford%20University%20Statement% 20on%20Investment%20Responsibility.pdf [http://perma.cc/AJ9E-RDU5].
164. ALL INVESTING IS IMPACT INVESTING: PREFACE TO HERON'S INVESTMENT POLICY AND PRINCIPLES 2(2014), https://www.missioninvestors.org/system/files/tools/Heron-Investment-Policy-Statement-and-Preface-2014.pdf [http://perma.cc/Q3XG-RZBM].
165. FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER, supra note 34, at 113 (citing the "leading US trusts treatise, Scott on Trusts" as supporting the view that trustees may consider ethical principles in investment decisions).
166. Joel C. Dobris, Arguments in Favor of Fiduciary Divestment of "South African" Securities, 65 NEB. L. REV. 209, 229(1986), http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol65/iss2/2 [http://perma.cc/7QTB-JTM9].
167. Ilana H. Eisenstein, Keeping Charity in Charitable Trust Law: The Barnes Foundation and the Case for Consideration of Public Interest in Administration of Charitable Trusts, 151 U. PA. L. REV. 1747, 1760 (2003).
168. Eric de Place & Nick Abraham, How State Public Money Pays for Coal Exports and Oil Trains, SIGHTLINE DAILY (Sept. 17, 2014, 6:30 AM), http://daily.sightline.org/2014/09/17/how-state-public-money-pays-for-coal-exports-and-oil-trains [http://perma.cc/V4R8-GYUH].
169. ALISTAIR WARDROPE & ISOBEL BRAITHWAITE, UNHEALTHY INVESTMENTS: FOSSIL FUEL INVESTMENT AND THE UK HEALTH COMMUNITY 5(2015), http://www.medact.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/UnhealthyInvesments-Spreads-Final-Version. pdf [http://perma.cc/MTN4-YPCJ].
170. See, e.g., Jesse Rieseborough & Thomas Biesheuvel, Coal Seen as New Tobacco Sparking Investor Backlash: Commodities, BLOOMBERG BUS., (Nov. 20, 2013, 11:23 AM) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-20/coal-seen-as-new-tobacco-sparking-investor-backlash-commodities [http://perma.cc/GZF4-MM4J].
171. Mary Christina Wood, Atmospheric Trust Litigation Around the World, in FIDUCIARY DUTY AND THE ATMOSPHERIC TRUST 99, 106 (Ken Coghill et al., eds., 2012), http://ourchildrenstrust.org/sites/default/files/ATLAcrossTheWorld-0.pdf [http://perma.cc/2EZ8-CEUJ] (last visited Sept. 14, 2015).
172. For more on the public trust doctrine, see, e.g., Ill. Cent. R. R. v. Illinois, 146 U. S. 387 (1892).
173. Foster v. Wash. Dep't of Ecology, 362 P.3d 959 (Wash. 2015) (en banc).
174. Sanders-Reed ex rel. Sanders-Reed v. Martinez, 350 P.3d 1221, 1227 (N. M. Ct. App. 2015).
175. Mary Christina Wood, Atmospheric Trust Litigation, in CLIMATE CHANGE READER 2 (W. H. Rodgers, Jr. & M. Robinson-Dorn, eds., 2011) ("Should Business as Usual continue even for a few more years, our children and their descendants - future Humanity for untold generations - will be pummeled by floods, hurricanes, heat waves, fires, disease, crop losses, food shortages, and droughts as part of a hellish struggle to survive within a deadly greenhouse of our own making.").
176. Press Release: Safeguarding Future Retirement Funds - Time for Investors to Move Out of High-Carbon Assets Says UN's Top Climate Official, UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE SECRETARIAT (Jan. 15, 2014), https://unfccc.int/files/press/press-releases-advisories/application/pdf/pr20140115-ceres-final1.pdf [http://perma.cc/X87W-8GKP].