At committee of the whole May 31, Courtenay council approved a motion from Melanie McCollum to have staff review and report back on an investment policy that can divest from fossil fuels companies and support fossil fuel-free investment portfolios.
The motion also calls to select investments that make positive contributions to ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors.
“This does not represent a decrease to the city’s investment revenues,” McCollum said. “The fossil fuel sector has not performed well over recent years. In fact, it has significantly under-performed against the renewable energy investments for each of the last 10 years.”
Recognizing that fossil fuels are understood to be the world’s greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, McCollum noted that council had previously agreed to apply a climate lens to every aspect of Courtenay’s new Official Community Plan.
CAO Geoff Garbutt said the resolution would be a 2022 budget response item.
