Fossil Free

Fossil Free
Name	Fossil Free
Type	Advocacy campaign
Founded	2010
Founders	Bill McKibben; 350.org
Location	Global
Focus	Divestment from fossil fuels, climate justice, renewable energy advocacy
Methods	Campaigning, research, community organizing, shareholder activism

Fossil Free is an international divestment campaign that seeks to persuade institutions to withdraw investments from companies involved in coal, oil, and natural gas extraction. Originating in the early 2010s amid rising public concern over climate change, the campaign aligns with broader efforts by environmental organizations, student movements, labor groups, and faith-based institutions to pressure finance, education, and civic institutions to shift capital toward low-carbon alternatives. Fossil Free has become a focal point in debates involving fossil fuel companies, financial institutions, and climate policy mechanisms.

History

The campaign emerged from initiatives led by activists associated with Bill McKibben and 350.org and built on earlier climate protest traditions exemplified by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Early actions drew on tactics used by the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns aimed at South Africa. By 2012 and 2013, Fossil Free coordinated with student groups active at institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Oxford University, and University of Cambridge, while engaging trustees at museums like the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art. High-profile protests mirrored events such as the Keystone XL pipeline protests and converged with legal and regulatory contests involving the Environmental Protection Agency and international forums including United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conferences.

Mission and Goals

Fossil Free’s stated objective is institutional divestment from companies whose business models are primarily linked to fossil fuel extraction and development. The campaign frames divestment as a moral and financial strategy similar to campaigns that targeted Apartheid South Africa and links its rationale to scientific findings popularized by organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and research from universities including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University College London. Goals include shifting capital allocation away from companies such as ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron while promoting investments in entities like Tesla, Inc., renewable energy funds managed by BlackRock, Vanguard, and community-owned energy projects analogous to initiatives in Germany and Denmark.

Campaigns and Activities

Tactics deployed by Fossil Free include public demonstrations, shareholder resolutions, research reports, and targeted outreach to trustees and officials at institutions such as Princeton University, Columbia University, New York University, University of California, and Stanford University. The campaign has coordinated with student organizers from Divest Harvard, alumni groups linked to Yale Divestment, and faith-based networks like the Catholic Climate Covenant and Interfaith Power & Light. Fossil Free also engages in legal-oriented advocacy that parallels actions seen in litigation involving Juliana v. United States, and collaborates with labor groups such as the Service Employees International Union and NGOs including Sierra Club, 350.org, and Friends of the Earth US. Public events have intersected with cultural institutions like the Tate Modern, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and sports sponsorship controversies reminiscent of debates around FIFA and Olympic Games corporate ties.

Organizational Structure and Funding

Fossil Free operates as a campaign network rather than a single centralized nonprofit, coordinating local and national chapters modeled after networks such as Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise Movement. Funding sources have included philanthropic grants from foundations like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, program support from environmental trusts, and donations channeled through partner organizations including 350.org and community foundations similar to The Climate Reality Project. Campaign coordination involves staff, volunteers, student interns, and legal advisers with ties to academic centers like the Grantham Research Institute and think tanks such as the World Resources Institute and ClimateWorks Foundation.

Impact and Criticism

Fossil Free claims measurable successes in securing divestment commitments from universities, municipal pension funds, religious institutions, and cultural organizations including municipal governments such as Seattle and San Francisco. Critics argue divestment is largely symbolic and point to analyses by financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley questioning near-term portfolio impacts. Other critiques, voiced in outlets associated with The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and commentators at Brookings Institution, contend that engagement and shareholder activism may yield more direct operational changes within companies than divestment alone. Legal scholars referencing cases in jurisdictions such as New York and United Kingdom have debated fiduciary duties implicated by divestment decisions.

Global Chapters and Partnerships

Fossil Free’s model has been replicated by initiatives in countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, France, India, South Africa, and Brazil. National chapters collaborate with local NGOs like Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), regional networks such as European Climate Foundation, and student coalitions including Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and Australian Student Environment Network. Partnerships extend to international entities like the United Nations Environment Programme, philanthropic actors such as the Ford Foundation, and development organizations exemplified by Oxfam.

Notable Actions and Outcomes

Noteworthy outcomes attributed to the campaign include divestment announcements by institutions like the University of California system, municipal decisions in cities comparable to New York City pension reforms, and policy shifts within faith-based investors like the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Unitarian Universalist Association. High-visibility actions involved coordinated campus sit-ins, shareholder votes at annual meetings of corporations such as Chevron Corporation and ExxonMobil, and media campaigns that amplified research from Carbon Tracker Initiative and academic studies at University of Oxford and Imperial College London. These actions influenced broader discourses on stranded assets, carbon budgets, and transitions promoted at multilateral forums such as G20 and COP21.

Category:Environmental organizations