San Mateo County takes slow steps to fossil fuel divestment

The county’s fossil fuel investments have been decreasing over the years and Schiebel argued that those investments would continue to fall if the board approved an amended investment policy proposed by Treasurer Sandy Arnott that states she “will forgo investments in fossil fuel issuers if able to do so while complying with all legal and fiduciary mandates, including with respect to safety of principal, liquidity, and return on invested funds.”

“The portfolio is definitely moving in the right direction to accomplish what you’re interested in,” Schiebel said.

But Supervisor David Canepa called on Arnott to go further with the policy by stating a commitment to making no new or renewed investments in fossil fuel companies as long as other investments adequately balance out any potential losses. Canepa pointed to a similar policy adopted in Sonoma County as proof the act is legal though County Attorney John Nibbelin said he did not necessarily agree with the legal finding. The county has taken legal action against large oil companies for their alleged contribution to sea level rise in the region, Canepa noted, arguing the investments go against the county’s stated commitment to divest from such companies.

“We’re investing in an industry that we know is causing our environment direct damage here in San Mateo County,” Canepa said. “I would much rather divest from the fossil fuel industry completely and invest in green businesses. If we truly want to save the planet, then we must divest.”

Similarly, Cynthia Kaufman with the Pacifica Climate Committee and Christine Kohl-Zaugg, executive director of Sustainable San Mateo County, said they would like to see stronger language against fossil fuel investment in the policy but also acknowledged the policy as drafted and other steps by Arnott to sell off fossil fuel bond holdings have or will continue to help the county make progress.

Ultimately, the board voted 4-1 to approve the investment policy after both Schiebel and Nibbelin said the policy goes as far as the county can go to reduce its fossil fuel investments without putting Arnott or the county in legal trouble for potentially jeopardizing the county’s financial standing.

“My preference, too, would be to say that we’ll immediately divest and never hold fossil fuel stocks,” Supervisor Dave Pine said. “But I think the sentence we have in the policy goes as far as we possibly can within the legal restraints and really achieves the same outcome as the Sonoma language.”