HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2021-043 N.C.S. 4/05/2021
Resolution No. 2021-043 N.C.S. Page 1
Resolution No. 2021-043 N.C.S.
of the City of Petaluma, California
RESOLUTION URGING CALPERS TO DIVEST ITS HOLDINGS IN FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES
FROM STATEWIDE PENSION INVESTMENTS AND TO OFFER MEMBER AGENCIES
PORTFOLIO OPTIONS CONSISTING OF HIGH-PERFORMING ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL,
AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (ESG) INVESTMENTS THAT EXCLUDE INVESTMENTS IN
FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES
WHEREAS, on December 12, 2015, 196 parties participating in the 21st Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, France, signed the 2015 Paris Agreement,
an international treaty on climate change that became effective on November 4, 2016, and, pursuant to the Paris
Agreement, the signatory parties vowed to keep global warming in this century "well below 2° C above
pre-industrial levels" and to "pursue efforts to limit temperature increase even further to 1.5° C;" and
WHEREAS, the 2018 International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5° C
estimates that humans have already caused about 1.0° C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, and to
have a 66% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5° C, requires not exceeding the remaining global "carbon
budget," which is equal to about 10 years of current-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and
WHEREAS, scientists in the U.S. and abroad have concluded that current global warming has contributed to
the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, floods, droughts, heat waves, and hurricanes; and
WHEREAS, Northern California wildfires in 2017-2020 destroyed at least 40k+ structures, killed many,
displaced thousands, and caused serious reductions in air quality; and
WHEREAS, according to a report entitled “Rising Seas in California – an Update on Sea Leve Rise Science”
prepared by a working group of the California Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team published in
April, 2017, the current pace of sea-level rise is already impacting California' s coastline; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2020 report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services, a United Nations committee, to which 145 authors from 50 countries contributed, climate
change, along with other factors like changes in land and sea use, and pollution, is causing a sixth mass extinction
of species, which is currently under way; and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to the environmental and economic sustainability of our city, region, state,
nation, and world, and has taken the following actions directed at climate change response and sustainability of
the City;
On August 5, 2002, the City Council approved Resolution No. 2002-117 N.C.S. adopting the Cities for
Climate Protection Program’s (CCPP) five milestones to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with
milestone one a GHG inventory to establish the quantity of emissions in the jurisdiction;
On July 18, 2005, the City completed milestone two of the CCPP by adopting Resolution No. 2005-118
N.C.S. setting GHG reduction targets;
On October 5, 2009 the City completed CCPP milestone three by adopting Resolution No. 2009-165
N.C.S. which approved an action plan to reduce GHG emissions to meet the City’s GHG reduction target;
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On January 22, 2018, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2018-009 N.C.S. reaffirming the City of
Petaluma’s intent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a part of the regional effort coordinated by the
RCPA and to adopt local implementation measures as identified in the RCPA Climate Action 2020 and
Beyond Report;
On May 6, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-055 N.C.S. declaring a climate emergency
and recognizing the need to increase efforts towards combating climate change;
On August 5, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2689 N.C.S. establishing a Climate Action
Commission to elevate climate issues to the highest priority in the City’s goal-setting process and to give
precedence to climate mitigation and adaption when evaluating policies, purchases, and projects,
allocating resources and seeking financial and regulatory aid to support the City’s climate efforts;
On January 11, 2021, the City Council adopted a Climate Emergency Framework recommending that the
City achieve carbon neutrality by 2030; and
WHEREAS, according to the City’s adopted Climate Emergency Framework, there is a moral imperative to
prioritize climate-related actions and policies that promote social, racial, environmental, economic, disability and
public health justice in communities disparately impacted by climate change, and frontline and underserved
communities are expected to receive a disproportionately higher impact from climate change and to have fewer
resources available with which to address those impacted; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Climate Emergency Framework recommends that the City give preference to actions
and policies with multiple benefits that align sustainable economies with thriving ecologies, including sustainable
economic benefits, reduction of pollutants and toxins, restoration of ecosystems and improvements in public
health, community cohesion and wellbeing; and
WHEREAS, the Climate Emergency Framework urges that the City set an example by acting responsibly to
its neighbors, the global community and all species by eliminating reliance on resources and products that pollute
both within and outside the City, and that the City work collectively with leading regional, statewide and
international bodies, so that Petaluma learns from the successes and failures of other cities and jurisdictions in
addressing the myriad challenges and impacts of climate change so that cross-jurisdictional coordination
regarding climate action can magnify the effectiveness of the City’s efforts; and
WHEREAS, according to the Sacramento Bee, citing an analysis conducted by Toronto-based Corporate
Knights, and a report published by Fossil Free California in November, 2020, in 2009 17.6 percent of CalPERS’
investments were in fossil fuel companies, defined as companies with more than 10 percent of revenues coming
from fossil fuel activity, and CalPERS’ investment portfolio would have realized greater returns if CalPERS’
investments in fossil fuel companies had been divested ten years ago and distributed across the spectrum of the
rest of CalPERS public equities over that period; and
WHEREAS, CalPERS has acknowledged that the regulatory, physical, and reputational risks posed by
climate change need to be mitigated within CalPERS’ overall investment portfolio, but has resisted calls from
groups like Fossil Free California to divest fossil fuel investments, and remains committed to a policy of
engagement with rather than divestment from fossil fuel companies to manage climate risk and deliver climate
solutions and the returns needed to pay benefits from CalPERS’ underfunded pension funds; and
WHEREAS, this resolution is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is
not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a
reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378,
subdivision a, and because this resolution involves the creation of government funding mechanisms or other
government fiscal activities, which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a
potentially significant physical impact on the environment, and Organizational or administrative activities of
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governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment, in accordance with
Section 15378, subdivision b of the CEQA Guidelines.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Petaluma as follows:
1. The above recitals are hereby declared to be true and correct and are incorporated into this resolution as
findings of the City Council.
2. This resolution is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project
which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably
foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378,
subdivision a. This resolution involves the creation of government funding mechanisms or other government
fiscal activities, which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially
significant physical impact on the environment, and Organizational or administrative activities of
governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment, in accordance with
Section 15378, subdivision b of the CEQA Guidelines
3. The City Council urges CalPERS to immediately instruct CalPERS’ asset managers to take steps to stop any
new investments in companies with more than 10 percent of revenues coming from fossil fuel activity and
whose operations involve the extraction of fossil fuels.
4. The City Council urges CalPERS to immediately instruct CalPERS’ asset managers to take steps to divest
from companies with more than 10 percent of revenues coming from fossil fuel activity, and to reallocate
CalPERS investments across the spectrum of the rest of CalPERS public equities, preferably with a focus on
sound investments that deliver climate solutions and the returns needed to pay benefits from CalPERS’
underfunded pension funds.
5. The City Council urges CalPERS to develop a high-performing Environmental, Social, and Corporate
Governance (ESG) portfolio free of investments in companies with more than 10 percent of revenues coming
from fossil fuel activity to which CalPERS member agencies may direct a portion of their CalPERS
investments.
Under the power and authority conferred upon this Council by the Charter of said City.
REFERENCE: I hereby certify the foregoing Resolution was introduced and adopted by the
Council of the City of Petaluma at a Regular meeting on the 5th day of April
2021, by the following vote:
Approved as to
form:
__________________________
City Attorney
AYES: Mayor Barrett; Vice Mayor Barnacle; Fischer; Healy; King; McDonnell; Pocekay
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATTEST: ______________________________________________
City Clerk
______________________________________________
Mayor
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