Divestment plan
Maine makes state fossil-fuel divestments a point of law
Other US states expected to follow Maine’s lead, especially heavily Democratic ones on east and west coast
Maine has become the first US state to pass legislation requiring state officials to sell investments in fossil fuel-producing companies. On 17 June, Maine governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, signed into law a divestment plan that requires the $17bn Maine Public Employee Retirement System to divest $1.3bn it holds in fossil fuel producing companies by 2026, and the state’s Treasury to do the same with its invested funds. “Divestment will decrease the value of a company’s shares and may make it more expensive to access new capital, but it does not force companies to transition their businesses away from fossil fuels” Jeppesen, Carbon Tracker Richard Brooks, climate finance director for
Also in this section
28 March 2025
The massive expansion of the Northern Lights project in Norway is the clearest sign yet that the European oil and gas companies mean business when it comes to CCS
27 March 2025
Awards celebrate global innovation, leadership and achievement across the energy sector’s people, projects, technologies and companies.
20 March 2025
While advanced economies debate peak fossil fuel demand, billions of people still lack access to reliable and affordable energy, especially in the Global South
14 March 2025
Ignoring questions of sustainability will not make the problems they focus on go away
