New York City Comptroller's Fossil Fuel Investment Plan

By Ross Kerber

(Reuters) – New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced on Tuesday plans to terminate future private market investments in fossil fuel infrastructure due to climate change concerns.

If the fund trustees approve the plan, it would extend earlier restrictions on exploration and extraction investments by preventing future investments in assets such as pipelines and LNG terminals within the funds' private equity and infrastructure portfolios.

"Climate risk is financial risk, and we have a fiduciary duty to our beneficiaries to take that risk seriously as we make long-term investment decisions," Lander stated in an email.

Lander, who is also a candidate for New York City mayor, manages a pension system that has proactively divested from fossil fuel companies, a trend not seen in many other public investment institutions.

Significantly, the main New York City funds have completely exited from publicly traded fossil fuel reserve owners, making them the first large U.S. public pension system to divest from both active and passive fossil fuel portfolios, as noted by Lander's office.