Just last month, a bill was passed in order to address the massive unfunded liabilities of Colorado’s state pension program, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA). Not only is PERA‘s fund in poor financial standing – it also has upwards of $780 million invested in over 100 oil, gas and coal companies.

Not only is the public funding of the climate crisis of grave concern, so is the financial risk of fossil fuel investments to state pension beneficiaries. Investors holding fossil fuels face material and financial risk tied to stranded assets and the carbon bubble. Traditional energy is now the worst-performing sector of the S&P for over five years running. Meanwhile, fossil free indexes are outperforming conventional counterparts.

Please join us in sending a message to Colorado’s Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in a clean, renewable energy future. Add your voice by signing and sharing this petition.

Over 850 organizations globally (amounting to over $6 trillion) have divested from fossil fuels, including New York State and New York City Pension Funds, as well as London’s Pension Fund earlier this year. We’re calling on PERA, Colorado’s Pension Fund, to follow suit and demonstrate leadership in both protecting pensions and investing in a clean, renewable energy future.

The Divest-Invest movement is critical in shifting the current status quo and disrupting the social license that the fossil fuel industry currently has to continuously extract and pollute.

Please call on PERA to take bold leadership in divesting from fossil fuels. Sign the petition now.

If you are a PERA member, we would love to know. Please complete this one-click form and we’ll keep you posted on PERA divestment efforts underway this year and how you can be involved. If you’d like to be involved in this campaign, please contact Deborah at campaigns@350colorado.org.