Dear John,

Maine made history today and I am really excited about it.

The Maine Legislature enacted LD 99 — a bill that requires the state to divest itself of, or stop investing in, assets in the fossil fuel industry — finally, aligning Maine money with Maine values.

Maine is now the first state to pass legislation to divest from fossil fuels. In February, I testified in support of LD 99, where I urged divestment from fossil fuels, saying "fossil fuel divestment is the only moral choice for governments that care about their citizens and the future of their state." Thanks to the work of youth climate groups across Maine, our lawmakers listened!

Maine youth climate groups are largely responsible for this win and we thank leaders from Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Maine Climate Action NOW!, Sierra Club Maine, 350 Maine, and others for their incredible work on this effort to continue pushing our state to be a climate action leader. Additionally, we thank Rep. Maggie O’Neil of Saco for sponsoring this legislation and encouraging her colleagues to follow her light in recognizing that we have a responsibility to divest from the industry that’s destroying our future and reinvest into climate solutions for Maine.

The decision to divest Maine state pensions or annuity funds from the 200 largest publicly traded fossil fuel companies carries symbolic weight and could influence other states to join us. I am relieved and truly blown away by this monumental achievement.

Since 2013, young people from all over the country and world have been participating in fossil fuel divestment campaigns, and most often, these youth-run campaigns calling on their schools or colleges to divest their endowments from fossil fuels and reinvest in socially responsible funds have been wildly successful. I got my start in the climate movement with my college’s fossil fuel divestment campaign. Alongside my incredible team at Dartmouth, we organized the largest climate rally in the history of New Hampshire and brought national attention to using fossil fuel divestment as a unique strategy to combat the climate crisis and align our institutions with their values.

Internationally renowned environmentalist, founder of 350.org, and fellow New England resident, Bill McKibben, says it best: “If it’s wrong to wreck the planet, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage.”

Onward,

Ches

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about this historic moment for Maine, click here to read more.

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