STATE INVESTMENT COUNCIL DIVESTMENT AG ANNOUNCEMENT

To: New Jersey State Investment Council

From: Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN)

RE: Divestment AG Announcement Testimony

I am going to be perfectly clear in my testimony today on the off chance that the last decade of testimonies by fossil fuel divestment activists has confused you. This body, the Division of Investment, the New Jersey Treasury Department, and Treasury Secretary Elizabeth Muoio stand in blatant disregard of the climate crisis with its billions of dollars worth of investments in the fossil fuel industry. Every meeting all you do is listen say thank you and move on with no real action.

Just to remind you, the Treasury has a fiduciary responsibility to pension holders. You are responsible for making sure state workers, teachers, police officers, firefighters, and civil servants are able to not only access their retirement funds but have a solid return on the money they are handing over to you.

You haven’t. Fossil fuels have been the worst performing sector in the S&P 500 for over a decade, and since 1990 there has been 0% organic growth in the fossil fuel industry.

You are burning away pensioners’ retirement funds. You are responsible for the deaths of thousands around the globe due to the climate crisis. You are responsible for the destruction of the Jersey Shore and coastal communities, you are responsible for historic floods and storms that have ravaged this state. And you are responsible for the impending climate crisis. I don’t think any of you are completely aware of what billions of dollars handed over to fossil fuel executives do.

It kills. Point blank period.

I’m not going to come on here and try to explain to you that the climate crisis is real. You should know that, your analysts’s should know that. You have been told in executive order after executive order what you are supposed to do to help mitigate this state from the climate crisis. You haven’t. You have sat in your high tower and have done nothing. That’s over now. We are rallying inf ront of the treasury right now. We are building a coalition of environmental organizations, unions, and pensioners to get this done with or without you. Next week Climate Revolution Action Network will be filing a complaint through the Attorney General’s Office for violating Executive Order 28. We are done with your complacency.

The next generation of pensioners deserve to be able to survive and live in a world where they can actual use their pension. You have taken that away from them, and I hope every member of this body has to live with the fact that they funded the death this planet.