Why fossil free is a movement - VPRO documentary

Why is fossil free a movement? Why are people coming together to create a fossil free movement and think of the fossil fuel industry as overvalued? A documentary that shows a movement that believes in a fossil free future.

After the climate summit in Paris there will be long and difficult negotiations about how to deal with the problems of climate change. A growing group of people has lost confidence in the political system coming up with sufficient measures in time. They target the financial sector and organize campaigns towards pension funds, churches, university and governments to withdraw their investments in oil, coal, and gas producing companies. In other words, they want to divest from companies that profit from climate change.

This divestment movement no longer trusts politicians to tackle climate change. They now focus on the financial sector and receive help from unexpected sources. Big banks like HSBC, Citibank and the regulating Bank of England recently started to warn against the so-called ‘carbon bubble’. Investing in coal, oil and gas not only causes temperatures to rise, but it also involves substantial financial risks, for pensions for example.

The trust that politicians will come up with a solution for climate change is waning. A rapidly growing group of concerned citizens is looking for other ways to tackle climate change. They now focus on the financial world, because they believe that there is at least as much influence to be found here as in governments. Pension funds, churches and universities are called on to withdraw their investments in fossil fuels.

Including: Corien Wortmann-Kool (CEO ABP), Vatan Hüzeir (co-initiator of ABP Fossil Free), Ella Lagé (campaigner for Fossil Free Berlin) and Bob Litterman (hedge fund manager and former Head of Quantitative Trading at Goldman Sachs).

Original title: Fossielvrij

Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2015.
© VPRO Backlight November 2015

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Credits:
Director: Martijn Kieft
Research: Robert Kosters
Producer: Jeroen Beumer
Commissioning editors: Marije Meerman/Doke Romeijn
English, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.
French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.

[BrassLock]

This was a program developed 4 or 5 years ago (2014-2015). It would be great to get an update on the state of play in 2019.

[sanjuansteve]

We should all be using electric vehicles charged from the excess power generated from our home, business and covered parking rooftop solar arrays making nearly everything we do 100% solar powered.
The cost per distance driven is ridiculously cheap when you are your own solar fuel station (less than $0.01 USD per mile)! #nobrainer
We cannot afford to continue to burn fossil fuels!

[ericdew]

Don't invest in fossil fuels because it's a losing proposition. Solar, other renewables and new technologies are coming in to hit fossil fuels in the 'nads. The problem with FF is that the fixed costs are so exorbitantly high: it costs hundreds of millions just to put the tip of a drill bit into the ground. At the same time, we're flush with oil and the market prices are plummeting or at least kept quite low (a few years back, it was down around $30/bbl). When oil is that cheap, it would require decades of extraction to make enough to pay for the initial capital costs of drilling. So some drillers just decide not to bother. On the other hand, with just very little initial capital, one can set up a solar plant and start generating power.

[NewBookz]

So will these fossil free people stop driving cars? using products made with fossil fuels like computers and monitors; even producing electricity needs fossil fuels for manufacture. This is a movement from people who are not concerned about finances. Even if you go and live off the land you will need products made with fossil fuel.

[denuncimesmo]

really a fantastic idea, I had some investors who lost a lot with shares of a Brazilian oil company, but it was for another reason, now they will not invest in it again, and I have others who have investments in pension funds for the Brazil, I'll do my part to co-operate with them and think about investing in clean energy funds, electric cars, congratulations to the video.

[BaskingInObscurity]

Public calls for divestment in companies like Shell and de Beers were what finally tipped the fall of the Apartheid system. Remember how students, unions, and fund investors shocked the corporations who'd had business in South Africa support the status quo. Divestment is not a new strategy but one with a proven record.

[b-rad]

It is unrealistic to think oil & gas will go away immediately or entirely, but the industry is shrinking and will never be the same.  It will be a process, a gradual transition to cleaner, renewable sources as the energy infrastructure is gradually overhauled, especially as technology increases and becomes cheaper.

[gullybull]

' the climate is changing ! the climate is changing ! ' ( Human Little. )

[williambaikie]

Your selling of stocks just allows others to buy them at a discount. I wish I had investment capital, I would put it fossil fuel stocks. Divestment of a globally demanded resource is silly and nothing similar to South Africa under Apartheid.

[mauriceupton]

It takes hundreds of open caste mines electical power from coal and oil to make the components that go into solar panels and windmills cellphones and modern technologies..
Government needs to take an holistic management approach to dealing with modernity technology pollution & not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[madhusudhan]

Are they predicting and documenting this or documenting first and creating Their own prediction

[donosgamingaddiction]

Instead of concrete flowing through our cities, let us have Solar Roadways. If every highway was replaced with Solar Roadways, we would have enough energy produced JUST in the USA alone that would power the entire world. oh.. but there's no money in that.. We don't even need wind power... a Solar Highway would be enough. Not only would it replace street lights, which are messy and problematic in their own right, but electric cars would actually charge themselves while moving down the highway. You would never need to charge your car at night or anytime. They would always be charged to capacity just from driving down the road.


There are also new technologies being developed right now that are cleaner than fossil fuels but these companies and individuals that have created them, don't have the infrastructure/capital to fund them. It all boils down to money. Take money out of the equation, and we all, (we being the peoples of the world, not just one country) pull together and make it happen.


Technologies such as Graphene will revolutionize the world, as well. It's hard to produce right now, again because of money. But if that wasn't an issue, we could, and would find a solution to produce it easily and their uses are abundant. From clothing that is extremely durable, to water filtration.


We have technologies today that would allow our world to start moving into space, but again, it all boils down to economics. Again, take money out of the equation and then there isn't an issue. If we as a people were not motivated by greed, which equates to power, we would be much better off. Our goals and ideals would suddenly change over night.


Instead of working a job, that you hate; because you eventually see that there is no end in sight, why not DONATE your time to a project that can revolutionize the world. I'm sure there is some kid somewhere in a third world country right now that is brilliant. But, because of our current economic model; this child will never be properly educated and never realize his or her potential. Imagine what this child could do IF he or she lived in a society that wasn't based on economics, but a society whose goals and values derive from the desire to further understanding of research to actually IMPROVE our way of life instead of making a quick buck! Most people, in my opinion pick their profession based on how much money they will earn in their lifetimes, not because it will best benefit our society as a whole! There are actually people in the world who become Doctors because they actual want to HELP someone, not because they want a fat check at the end of the month. On the other hand, there are a lot of doctors right now working in our hospitals that are ONLY there to earn a fat paycheck.... imagine if everyone was doing what they do best, not for profit as an individual, but for profit for the world. Imagine if everyone had the opportunity to learn directly from the people doing exactly what they want to do, because those people are there because they TRULY want to be there, versus someone trying to teach you something because their getting a paycheck and have to be there, but hate it!

[nephildevil]

It is just a matter of time before we will have fossil fuel free, electrical vehicle only zones in cities.
Investors avoiding fossil fuel stocks is only logical, nobody buys into their lies and scandals anymore.
#endfossilfeuls

[davidmotyka]

How do you make things work without fossil fuels?

[sjefh]

It's too late. There is a time lapse of 10 to 20 years between CO² emission and effect. Therefore, we will see unstoppable rise in temp in the coming 20 years up to 6 C above base line. Additional feedback loops accelerating the process. Our civilization will fall apart because of weather chaos and crop failure. After that you will be scratching for food and drinkable water. But not much later there will come relief…in a situation of chaos and anarchy, nuclear power plants will start to pop one after another…the end.

[Aaron]

The energy market is already increasingly investing in renewables because they are now the cheapest and fastest options now for new electricity supplies. New wind in the US costs 2 cents per kilowatt online in one or two years. New solar in the US costs 3
cents per kilowatt online in months. New offshore wind in Britain is the lowest cost option for new electricity. Australia's 100MW wind farm battery with Tesla Powerpacks is smoothing, balancing, backing up and firming the grid there faster, better and cheaper than natural gas peak plants there. In Arizona APS just bought 850MW of Telsa Powerpack grid batteries along with 100MW of new solar PV. California now has too much solar electricity and so they sell it to Arizona. I think with high insulation, thermal electric floors, home batteries, grid batteries and electric vehicles we can make use of abundant renewably powered electricity and phase out fossil fuels cost effectively.

[bloodonmyboot]

These people are not a grassroots group

[lawsliveby]

My only interest is in having a healthy planet so the creatures living on it can do so without the add dangers of our pollutants. I believe in climate change as a natural occurrence and don't know enough about the science to have an opinion as to which scientists are right in the argument. I do believe we need energy and there are many opinions as to which energy source is the best. Unfortunately, politics has a stranglehold on the issue as do radical idealist championing some politically correct position. So while we have some relatively inexpensive fairly clean and readily available energy sources I suggest we clean this damn planet up before we poison what is left and thoughtfully pursue energy sources as we go. Minus the bandwagons. Most likely get hit by an asteroid anyway.

[arslongavitabrebis]

The green movement is a great way to keep oil cheep!

[UnhingedBecauseLucid]

Apart from the cringeworthy hippy hipster wannabe singing, this program was appallingly naive and simplistic. The proposed "solution" solves nothing at all.