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 The report by investment experts reveals the movement to take
money out of fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas has grown
50-fold in one year.
At the same time, more capital is flowing into renewable energy
and other solutions to climate change problems, it said.
"Climate change is severely impacting the health of our planet
and all of its inhabitants," said DiCaprio, announcing his
promise to divest on behalf of himself and the Leonardo DiCaprio
Foundation, which supports conservation projects around the
world.
"We must transition to a clean energy economy that does not rely
on fossil fuels, the main driver of this global problem," the
celebrity environmentalist added in a statement.
Local governments and investors from 43 countries have committed
to stop supporting fossil fuels, including municipalities,
pension funds, medical associations and churches, the coalition
backing the movement said.
The report, launched in New York by investment consultancy
Arabella Advisors, did not specify how much of the $2.6 trillion
in overall assets represented by those that have pledged to
divest was invested in fossil fuels.
Thomas Van Dyck, managing director of SRI Wealth Management
Group, said the research showed a growing number of investors
wanted to reduce their carbon risk and switch their money into
clean-growth industries.
"That underscores what I see every day as a financial advisor -
that the demand for fossil-free investment products is
increasing," he said in a statement.
'CATCHING FIRE'
In the past year, activists have targeted the shareholders and
creditors of fossil fuel companies and their corporate and
social partners, while ramping up pressure on universities and
religious institutions to stop investing in those firms.
The tactics are getting results - particularly in the United
States, Britain and some Scandinavian countries, campaigners
say.
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"If these numbers tell us anything, it's that the divestment
movement is catching fire," said May Boeve, executive director of
350.org, an online climate action group.
She said the expansion of the movement should send a clear message
to world leaders ahead of U.N. talks in Paris, where they are due to
agree on a new global deal to tackle climate change in December.
"It's time for them to follow suit, and divest our governments from
fossil fuel companies too," Boeve added.
Divestment strategies differ across organizations, the coalition
noted. Some are withdrawing their money from all fossil fuel
companies, while others are beginning with firms involved in coal or
tar sands.
A papal pronouncement issued by Pope Francis in June demanding swift
action to save the planet from environmental ruin has influenced
religious institutions, experts say.
"The pace of fossil fuel divestment within faith communities
worldwide, combined with the growing commitment to investing in
clean energy, particularly for the world's poor, show that the
world's spiritual and moral leaders grasp the urgency of the climate
crisis and are ready to act," said Rev. Fletcher Harper, executive
director of GreenFaith, a U.S.-based interfaith coalition for the
environment.
(Reporting by Megan Rowling; editing by Emma Batha. Please credit
the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson
Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking,
corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
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