Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an ordinance on Monday designed to strip the city of fossil fuels.
The ordinance will prohibit the use of public funds to invest in stocks, securities or other obligations of any company that derives more than 15% of its income from fossil fuels.
The ordinance also extends to businesses that derive more than 15% of revenue from tobacco products or from private prison industries.
Wu, a former city councilman who was sworn in as mayor last week, said the move is the culmination of a year-long effort to distance Boston from the fossil fuels that are helping fuel the climate change that threatens the city. coastal.
“This is deeply personal for many of us and urgent,” Wu said during a signing ceremony at Boston City Hall. “My oldest son, Blaise, was born the first year I served in this building and the first year we started hearing that it was the hottest year on record. Since then, his six years of life on this planet have been the hottest on record.
“We are moving quickly to ensure that Boston will set the tone for what is possible for that brighter, greener future for all of our children,” added Wu.
The ordinance will immediately take $ 65 million out of the fossil fuel industry, said Boston City Councilwoman Lydia Edwards, a supporter of the ordinance. The measure was unanimously approved by the Boston City Council last week.
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US Senator Edward Markey said leaving fossil fuels in the past is good for the city and its residents.
“We are making the right investment decision for our country,” said the Democrat and supporter of the national Green New Deal. “What Boston represents today is the future here.”
Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben also praised the move.
Boston Mayor Strips Vulnerable City of Fossil Fuels. #USPoli
“Today Boston has a claim for at least one day to be the greenest city in the country,” McKibben said.
As a coastal city, Boston is preparing for the ever-increasing impact of climate change and rising waters.
A report released earlier this year concluded, for example, that Boston’s subway system faces a serious threat from rising sea levels over the next 50 years that could cause flooding and cut critical connections in the city.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which operates the Boston area public transportation system, is working on longer-term mitigation projects and has committed nearly $ 2 million to various short-term projects to prevent flooding in the Línea Azul, one of the four main projects in the city. subway lines.
Boston has the oldest subway system in the country.
City officials did not immediately respond to questions about whether current investments would be affected by the ordinance.
There have been other recent moves to divest from fossil fuels.
Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow announced this year that the university will divest itself of fossil fuel holdings.
And in January, New York City officials announced that two city worker pension funds will extract an estimated $ 4 billion in investments from fossil fuel companies to promote clean energy use.
Not all government-led initiatives aimed at addressing climate change are successful.
Just last week, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker abandoned his administration’s ambitious plan to create a multi-state pact aimed at drastically curbing greenhouse gas pollution caused by transportation after the deal failed to gain traction in other states.
The ordinance signed Monday was one of the first major political actions by Wu, who was sworn in last week.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com