(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
The heirs of United States late oil magnate John D. Rockefeller say they're getting out of so-called big oil.
The philanthropic Rockefeller Brothers Fund has joined an international movement championing divestment from fossil fuels, pledging to withdraw investment from some of the world's greatest polluters.
It's a move, the fund claims, in line with the progressive vision held by the founding patriarch.
Kristina Kukolja has more.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
"These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life depressions have come and gone, prosperity has always returned and will again."
Easy to say, some would argue, for the man who, by 1932, had long been the United States' first billionaire -- his company Standard Oil, the country's first monopoly.
John D. Rockefeller was speaking on the occasion of his 93rd birthday and at the height of the Great Depression.
His acquisitions became the foundations of a vast family fortune that has spanned generations.
Almost a century later, his heirs say they want out.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a philanthropic trust run by John D Rockefeller's descendants, has announced it aims to reduce exposure to fossil fuels as much as possible and end all investments in coal and tar sands by the end of the year.
Valerie Rockefeller Wayne, the chair of the fund, has told the BBC it reflects the Fund's commitment to sustainability.
"There's an imperative behind this on many fronts to move into alternative investments, so we have approached it very carefully. In 2010 our board endorsed a commitment of up to 10 per cent of our now $860 million endowment towards alternative investments -- what we call impact investing or sustainable investing -- that would be more aligned with our grant making. Over half of the money that we do give out as a non for profit is towards sustainable development, so it just made sense to have our endowment supporting the work that we're doing through our grantees and with our grantees in sustainable development."
But commentator and Chief Executive Officer of consultancy Oil Outlooks in Houston, Texas, Carl Larry has told Bloomberg TV it's also a wise business move.
"We're starting to see a lot of these oil companies and gas companies -- and anything fossil fuels right now, especially in America -- making a really nice peak. We've really seen a lot of refining margins hitting their high. We've seen production coming from US domestic crude oil, really just pushing higher and higher. It's one of those things where their timing for it is not only for this climate change but obviously for the markets. You're seeing a lot more people getting out of the commodities sector right now, so this really is not a big surprise, but also a really good move for them."
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has joined a coalition of individuals and institutions, with over $50 billion in total assets, pledging to divest from fossil fuels over five years and using a variety of approaches.
The Director of the Centre for Energy Technology at the University of Adelaide says it's part of a growing long-term global trend towards renewables.
But Professor Gus Nathan says he doesn't foresee any immediate damage to the fossil fuel industry.
"All industries will seek resources from a range of locations and the established industries, such as the fossil fuels industry, already have many years of investment and their technologies are quite well established. So, there are still plenty of drivers to continue to use these resources. Nevertheless, this does mark a shift in the trend and the further we see investment in cleaner technologies, the more rapidly that will lower their cost."
More than 120 heads of state and governments are attending a major climate summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
They're being joined by international business, finance and civil society delegates.
The host, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, says he needs all hands on deck on what he's described as one of the defining issues of our time.
In the days ahead of the one day event, tens of thousands of people took to the streets around the world calling for action on climate change.
Representing Australia is Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, in place of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who'll also be in New York, but for other meetings.
Signalling its stance on climate change, the Australian government has abolished the carbon tax, saying the focus will be on its so-called Direct Action plan to reduce carbon emissions.
But Professor Gus Nathan argues there is a future for Australia in renewable energy.
"Australia should be proactive in investing in transforming our energy exports from our current complete dependence on, effectively, raw fossil fuels. Now there is some ongoing processing to Liquified Natural Gas, but longer-term we can be exporting either cleaner fossil fuels which have been upgraded to a lower carbon content. Or in the future we could be transporting things like solar-based fuels which would then be providing carbon neutral feedstocks. To do this Australia can be proactive in investing in the technologies to allow us to lead this path. If we're not proactive then we could suddenly find ourselves with an $80 billion hole in our budget."
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