Elorza: City no longer investing in ‘Filthy 15’ coal companies

PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. Elorza proposes an overall 2.3 percent increase to fiscal 2018 budget. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS
PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. Elorza proposes an overall 2.3 percent increase to fiscal 2018 budget. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS

PROVIDENCE – The city will no longer invest pension funds in the top 15 carbon-emitting coal companies in the country, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza said.

“I am proud that Providence has chosen to divest from the ‘Filthy 15.’ These companies are simply the wrong investments for those who care about protecting our Earth,” Elorza said in a statement. “The decision to divest from the 15 most egregious carbon-polluting coal companies sends a strong message that the city will not support companies that seek to profit from the destruction of our environment.”

Friday’s announcement follows yesterday’s vote by the Board of Investments Commissioners, of which Elorza serves as chairman, to instruct the city’s fund managers to begin divesting from these carbon-emitting companies.

The Filthy 15, judged by the nonprofit As You Sow that promotes environmental and corporate social responsibility, and the Responsible Endowment Coalition, are: American Electric Power, Ameren, Dominion, Duke Energy, Edison International, FirstEnergy, GenOn, MidAmerican Energy, PPL, Southern Co., Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, ConsolEnergy, Patriot Coal and Peabody.

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The city of Providence is the latest entity to divest from investing in these companies.
In May, the Rhode Island School of Design’s board of trustees voted unanimously to divest the college endowment’s direct investments in fossil-fuel extraction company stocks and bonds.
The decision came after a two-year study, a college spokeswoman said at the time.

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