Times Union
Michael Carrube
No reasonable person can argue that man-made climate change is not real. We must find ways to deal with it to ensure a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren.
We undoubtedly need to explore ways to best do this, but while the issue of having pension funds divest from fossil fuels is worth discussing, we cannot do it willy-nilly on the backs of state and municipal workers and retirees under the gun of calls to immediately divest or to be locked into a rigid timeline for doing so.
Public pensions are a right earned by state and municipal workers and retirees who have devoted much of their lives to protecting and serving the public. They should not be used as policy experiments and be part of some broad political agenda.
Unfortunately, that’s what some environmental activists and state lawmakers want to do. They have called for the state’s nearly $200 billion Common Retirement Fund to completely and immediately divest from fossil fuel companies. That’s a bad idea, both from the perspective of state and municipal employees and from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the Fund.
And now, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials are floating the idea of divesting the city’s $189 billion pension fund from fossil fuels within five years. That, too, is a bad idea in terms of setting a rigid timeline, though we do agree there needs to be discussions with all stakeholders to develop a sensible plan that protects pensions and, ultimately, taxpayers…
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