[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Maine has become the first of the 50 U.S. states to order the divestment from fossil fuel investments, Bloomberg reported on the 17th (local time).
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a bill mandating the divestment of public funds from investments in oil, coal, natural gas, and related products. Accordingly, the state treasury and the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, which manages $17 billion, must divest all fossil fuel-related investment assets by 2026.
According to the environmental group Stand.earth, as of the first quarter of this year, the Maine Public Employees Retirement System has invested more than $1.3 billion in fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Recently, public funds deciding to divest from fossil fuel investments have been increasing in the U.S. The New York State Common Retirement Fund announced it will divest from oil and gas company investments by 2025. The endowment funds of Brown University and the University of Southern California have also announced plans to divest from fossil fuel-related company investments.
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