Ireland’s Dáil Éireann (lower house) voted this week on the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill (PDF) which was first introduced by independent politician Thomas Pringle, but which was then backed by the Irish Government which helped to secure its passage.
The text of the bill calls for the complete divestment of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund of fossil fuel companies within five years from the commencement of the bill’s approval.
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, currently under the auspices of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is a €8.9 billion ($10.34 billion) sovereign development fund.
Such a divestment would not only be a massive loss for the European fossil fuel industry but would send a message to nations around the world, as it would be the first time an entire country has moved to divest itself of its fossil fuel investments.
The bill will now move on to the Seanad Éireann, the upper house of Ireland’s legislature, the Oireachtas, which it is expected to pass through smoothly.
Ireland’s decision is a significant win for the global divestment campaign and it is an encouraging step in direction of a complete withdrawal of support of fossil fuels – no funding, no more fossil fuels projects.
Reference- Cleantechnica
