opinion
Jewish Institutions Have a Tool for Fighting
Climate Change: Their Bank Accounts
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn
bs_k1d / AdobeStock
T he last eight years have
been the hottest in recorded
history, causing untold damage
across the world — and that
destruction is not something that
we can reverse with the flick of
a switch. We can’t instantly turn
back the floods in California nor solve its decade-
long drought. We can’t immediately end the wildfires
in Colorado, hurricanes in Florida or flash floods in
the Northeast and California.

But the American Jewish community has an import-
ant role to play in addressing the underlying cause
of these devastating events and avoiding an ever-in-
creasing cascade of destruction and harm.

Many of us are members of Jewish organizations
or congregations that, often unknowingly, support
fossil fuel companies. Even as we work to cut our
carbon footprints, our investments are financing
Exxon’s and Chevron’s expansion in fossil fuels. A
recent report by the organization I lead, Dayenu,
found that a sample of major Jewish organizations
had over $3 billion invested in fossil fuel companies.

According to Fossil Free Funds and the EPA, that’s
$3 billion invested in coal, oil and gas companies that
extract and burn carbon responsible for the equiva-
lent of running 561,276 cars on the road for a year.

By reallocating that money from the extraction and
burning of fossil fuels to investing in clean energy,
we can turn our communal assets from a net cost to
the earth to a net gain for our future.

The way forward is clear. The world’s leading
scientists tell us that to avoid the worst impacts of
the climate crisis, we must halve global greenhouse
gas emissions by 2030 and end all climate pollution
no later than 2050. Fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas
— are the leading contributors to climate change,
responsible for 75% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Renewable energy sources like solar, wind and
hydropower are already cheaper, more reliable and
more lucrative for investors — while creating millions
of jobs.

The vast majority of American Jews support bold
climate action. A 2014 study found that 8 out of 10
American Jews were concerned or alarmed about
the climate crisis. Since then, climate has become a
top concern for American Jews, consistently ranking
as a priority issue for American Jewish voters,
especially young people. Initiatives like the Jewish
Climate Leadership Coalition are helping institutions
cut their emissions, and there is growing interest in
socially responsible and impact investing.

These steps show a commitment to taking action
— but much more is needed to reach the scale
necessary to confront climate change. Over the
past few years, Brandeis, a university “animated by
Jewish values, rooted in Jewish history and experi-
ence,” decided to turn concern into action.

Joining Harvard, Yale and other universities,
Brandeis divested some $997 million from fossil fuel
companies in 2018. But University President Ronald
Liebowitz said a recent decision to further reduce
exposure to fossil fuels and expand investments in
clean energy helps move the university to further
align with its Jewish values and become “a Brandeis
that strives to reflect one of its highest values: using
one’s talents to repair the world — in word and deed.”
It’s not just institutions of higher education.

Thousands of other organizations have already
moved their money from fossil fuels to clean energy
investments. Sovereign states like Norway, major
retirement plans like New York City’s pension funds,
and numerous faith organizations have all moved
their resources in ways designed to make them
agents of a sustainable future.

Now Jewish organizations, institutions and commu-
nities can join them. As part of the report “With
All Our Might: Bechol M’odecha: How the Jewish
Community Can Invest in a Just, Livable Future,”
Dayenu lays out a six-step Roadmap for Change to
help the Jewish community better align its invest-
ments with its values. Beginning with Jewish learn-
ing, or reishit chochma (grounding), the steps guide
institutional leaders through cheshbon (research
investments), limmud (education), sicha (engage-
ment), kavanah (making a plan) and kadima (moving
your money).

Larger institutions will focus on their asset manag-
ers, while congregations and smaller organizations
will focus on their banks. By advocating publicly and
privately with both banks and asset managers — the
two primary financiers of fossil fuel extraction —
to reinvest their money, Jewish organizations can
educate their communities about sustainability and
finance. Vocally aligning their finances with their
values, the Jewish community can help speed a
movement away from fossil fuels and toward clean
energy at the pace that we, and future generations,
need to survive.

And, make no mistake, it’s a race against time.

The International Energy Agency — the world’s
most respected energy analysis group — says that
to reach zero emissions by 2050, we need to invest
$4 in clean energy for every $1 in fossil fuels every
year for the next few decades. However, since the
Paris Agreement was signed, asset managers and
banks have put trillions of dollars into the fossil
fuel industry. To win this race, we need to use the
lever of private finance. Faced with pressure from
whole sections of the public — including the Jewish
community — companies like BlackRock, Citigroup,
JPMorganChase and Vanguard could be persuaded
to hasten the transition to clean energy.

The American Jewish community is well-posi-
tioned to take meaningful climate action. Like other
faith traditions, we are well-organized, and our
institutions have an estimated $100 billion of invest-
ment assets. Following Dayenu’s six-point roadmap,
we can withhold the Jewish community’s financial
support for dirty energy and instead invest in renew-
ables. By raising our voices alongside the many
investors who are calling for change, we can acceler-
ate the transition to a clean energy future. As floods,
fires, and heat waves come with alarmingly greater
frequency and severity, we know we have no time
to waste. ■
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn is the founder and CEO of
Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action.

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