Fossil fuels, including petroleum, coal, and gas, account for close to one hundred percent of daily energy use all around the world. Although we use these resources for almost everything we do, the harmful emissions they release into the air contribute substantially to global warming and climate change. 

For this reason, vast amounts of people have chosen to take a step back from using fossil fuels as a source of energy in their personal lives. Within recent years, however, these efforts have expanded into a larger movement known as Fossil Fuel Divestment. 

Associated with this movement are people who are passionate about the environment, not only choosing to abstain from fossil fuels themselves but working every day to convince others to do the same. The fossil fuel industry has lost billions of dollars from the start of the movement to now.

Entire countries such as Ireland have long committed to denouncing fossil fuels as a source of energy, and it would only be a matter of time until companies and organizations of considerable size followed suit. Made up almost entirely of non-profits, educational institutions, and churches, below are some of the organizations that have chosen to publicly disassociate themselves with the industry. 

Rockefeller Brothers Fund 

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is a charitable organization that was started by the children of John D Rockefeller Jr. Grants are distributed by the non-profit to uplift community members and encourage them to do good. 

The organization is very specific about which causes are eligible for funding. One of the categories that are considered to be acceptable happens to climate change. Although the Rockefeller family has inherited a large fortune from their grandfather, Joh D Rockefeller, they collectively decided to divest in fossil fuels within the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, making strides toward a better future. 

Stanford University 

Stanford is a prestigious university located in the city of Stanford, California. A dream college for many students, the campus is close to Silicon Valley. Its extensive resources and seemingly endless budget is desirable to thousands of prospects, although only a small percentage will gain admission into the school. 

For several years, there has been a discussion of a complete fossil fuel divestment from Stanford. After several protests from students and local environmental enthusiasts, the university finally decided to pull back funds from the industry in the year 2014, amounting to an estimated 18 billion dollars. 

California Institute Of The Arts 

The California Institute Of The Arts is another highly sought after private university in the sunshine state. Located in the city of Santa Clarita, this school educates students seeking a degree in the arts.

Conversations of a fossil fuel divestment were planted in the year 2015, but it wasn’t until the year 2018 that the university made the final decision to cut back on their stocks in the industry. 

World Council Of Churches 

The World Council Of Churches is a Christian organization that groups together many individual faiths, including Baptist, Methodist, and Protestant churches. The community amounts to hundreds of churches worldwide that make important decisions collectively. 

When the entire council divested from fossil fuels, the industry took a huge hit, to say the very least. To be exact, 345 churches in total pulled their money out of oil and gas investments, not to mention every member within each of these establishments. 

The Lutheran World Federation 

Similar to the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation is a large group of Lutheran churches scattered around the world. This includes all branches of the Lutheran faith, which totals up to over one hundred individual denominations. 

Moving toward the goal of living in a world free of carbon emissions, the church leaders decided that they would take funds out of the industry as a whole, contributing to the billions of dollars lost since the movement commenced.