Last week, Maine passed bill LD99; an act to require the state to divest itself of assets invested in the fossil fuel industry. Needing 17 votes to pass, it succeeded with 18 in favour while 15 voted against the bill and two were excused.

Under the law, the Maine Public Employees Retirement System “may not invest the assets of any state pension or annuity fund in any stocks or other securities of any corporation or company within the fossil fuel industry or any subsidiary, affiliate or parent of any corporation or company among the 200 largest publicly traded fossil fuel companies”.

The fund must also divest any such holdings by 1 January 2026.

However, short-term investment funds that blend commercial paper or futures are exempt from the restrictions.

The bill, which was supported by Maine state treasurer Henry Beck, also directs the state Treasury to do the same across all state funds.

“If Maine can divest responsibly and thoughtfully, there are no more excuses for any other pension fund and legislature in the USA. It is past time for every other public pension to address the mounting climate risk in their portfolios by holding onto fossil fuel investments. These are a ticking time bomb and fiduciaries must act,” according to Richard Brooks, climate finance director at Stand.earth, which is coordinating the national Climate Safe Pensions Network.

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