Purvis, Ann. “News – California Insurance Commissioner Tells Insurers to Drop Coal Investments.” News – California Insurance Commissioner Tells Insurers to Drop Coal Investments | Heartland Institute. N.p., 5 Sept. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2017
The California Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, has asked that all insurance companies that are in business in the state to divest from their coal investments. Although it is a voluntary request, he is threatening to publicize the names of companies that do not divest. He is calling for divestment in companies that derive more than 30 percent of their revenues from coal and from utilities using coal to generate 30 percent of their energy.
Overall, this is a very positive action towards helping our environment. It will cause companies that deal with coal to lose financial strength causing them to grow weaker and more vulnerable. Although it may not be very appropriate for the California Insurance Commissioner to be using his power to publicize company names and such, it is very beneficial in the effort to cleaner energy.
this is a power move. people do not respond unless they feel it in their wallets. while I think this is very extreme I think this will see positive results in backing away from reliance on coal.
Why is it necessary or positive to make companies feel pressured or vulnerable? and what does divestment mean? While it’s true that coal does produce a lot of carbon emissions, the same can be said about a lot of things, and laying the heat on companies trying to protect their interests is a bit dirty.