Climate Clocks Worldwide Now Tracking Progress on Fossil Fuel Divestment

PHOTOS AVAILABLE HERE

Indigenous lands of the Munsee Lenape Peoples (colonially called New York, NY) – Today, Stand.earth and Climate Clock launch a new Fossil Fuel Divestment Lifeline, urging global institutions to divest their holdings from fossil fuels and reinvest in renewable energy and climate-safe solutions, whilst celebrating the already impressive achievements of the divestment movement.

Explore the lifeline here.

Programmed in coordination with the Global Fossil Fuel Divestments Database, the world’s most comprehensive tracker of divestment commitments, the new lifeline will appear on the Climate Clock’s 80-foot digital clock face in New York City’s Union Square, as well as its other large-scale clocks located across the globe in Rome, Seoul, Tokyo, London, Beijing and Harrisburg PA. It reads, “$40.51T DIVESTED,” “FOSSIL FUELS ARE KILLING US — DIVEST NOW!,” “IF CA DIVESTED from OIL & GAS, EVERY WORKER WOULD BE $8K RICHER” and more.

In addition, the new message will appear on over 100 handheld Climate ‘action’ Clocks used to promote climate education and spur community action and awareness  – from teachers in the DRC and Italy to youth activists in Turkey and Tokyo to activist organizations in Ghana, the Netherlands, Kosovo, and Brazil.

“The only thing more powerful than data is creative art that helps communicate it — and that’s exactly what the new Climate Clock Divestment Lifeline does. Fossil fuel divestment is a key tool in our collective toolbox not only to tackle the climate crisis, but also to reinvest in climate-safe solutions like renewable energy, Indigenous land back, and public housing. Today, we celebrate the incredible people power behind the Fossil Fuel Divestment movement through this new lifeline.” said Amy Gray, Senior Climate Finance Strategist at Stand.earth.

The Fossil Fuel Divestment Lifeline was previewed at the June 22 IEEFA Conference in California during a panel with union members, young people, teachers, and campaigners, titled “Intergenerational & interwoven futures: California’s Climate Catalyst, Pension Divestment Legislation.” 

Yesterday, a new report from the University of Waterloo revealed just 6 U.S. public pensions could be $21 billion richer if they divested ten years ago. 

“Rapid divestment from fossil fuels is a key solution pathway for averting climate breakdown and securing a liveable, renewable energy-powered future. By adding the new Fossil Fuel Divestment Lifeline to Climate Clocks worldwide, we are celebrating the courageous action of over 1,500 institutions, representing over $40 trillion, that have already divested, and calling on additional institutions, banks, and pension funds to divest now. We must #ActInTime.” said Andrew Boyd, Co-Creator and CEO of Climate Clock.

To date, 1,592 institutions representing more than $40.51 trillion in assets have committed to some level of fossil fuel divestment, including most recently the Church of England, three New York City pension funds, the largest public pension in Washington, DC, the Chicago Public Teachers’ Pension Fund, and massive global pensions like ABP and PFZW. 

The IPCC urgently warns that “there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all,” with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres exclaiming, “new funding for fossil fuel exploration and production infrastructure is delusional.” 

The messaging will be on Climate Clock’s indefinitely, and resources will be hosted permanently on its website www.climateclock.world/science#ffd

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Press Office Contact

Climate Clock has a global community of voices available for comment, including many local spokespeople and youth ambassadors. Andrew Boyd from Climate Clock and Amy Gray from Stand.earth are available for interviews. 

For all Stand.earth press enquiries, please contact Lindsay Meiman 

E: lindsay@stand.earth

T:  +1 (917) 970-2281

For all Climate Clock press enquiries, please contact Kibbo Kift Agency: 

Ray Hopkinson, Global PR Lead

E: ray.hopkinson@kibbokiftagency.com

T: 447717721441

Imagery is available to download and please find a social media toolkit with further information and assets. 

About Climate Clock

The first Climate Clock launched in Union Square, New York City, in September 2020 and quickly went viral. It now has a global presence, with monument-sized Clocks installed in London, Prague, Rome, Seoul, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and portable clocks in the hands of climate leaders across the world, from Greta Thunberg to Bill McKibben to the Prime Minister of the Bahamas Phillip Davis. It was displayed during the final negotiations at COP27.

The Climate Clock urges governments, corporations, and other power-holders to #ActInTime to avert the climate breakdown. It exhibits a ‘Deadline’ counting down the time remaining to prevent global warming from rising above 1.5°C and four ‘Lifelines’ tracking progress on key solution pathways, including the percentage of the world’s energy from renewable sources, the amount of land currently protected by Indigenous peoples, the Loss & Damage Financing owed by the richest G20 Nations to the most vulnerable nations, and the percentage of women in national parliaments, all key climate solutions. The countdown is based on IPCC data, the gold standard of climate science.

The original Climate Clock in New York was co-created by Gan Golan, Andrew Boyd, Katie Peyton Hofstadter, and Adrian Carpenter.

Climate Clock website: https://climateclock.world/ 

Climate Clock Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climateclock.world/

Climate Clock TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theclimateclock