Skepticism about divestment and McKibben

[bananas]

5. It works in both directions, it's a feedback loop.

Money taken out of fossil fuels increases the financial risk of fossil fuels for other investors, drawing other investors away from fossil fuels; and when that money is instead invested in green projects it accelerates the development and deployment of those green projects, decreasing the financial risk for green projects, drawing other investors into green projects.

I'd also like to point out that divestment isn't just a tactic, it also comes from a felt ethical sense that investing in fossil fuels is wrong.

The apartheid divestment movement on campuses was led by students and faculty who didn't want to be a part of the apartheid system, even indirectly through university investments. And corporate apartheid divestment was led by shareholders and employees who felt the same way.

I'm kind of horrified you would want people to ignore their personal sense of integrity and stop advocating divestment.

Divestment is the right thing to do, regardless of whether it's profitable or not.