The Outcomes of Fossil Free Campaign - Case Study - Assessment Answer

Case Study  - The Outcomes of Fossil Free Campaign Assignment

Assignment Task

Essay Topic: The outcomes of fossil free campaign

The Outcomes of Fossil Free Campaign Fossil Free Campaign is an initiative of 350.org which aims to reduce the use of fossil fuel which is harmful for the entire climate. The campaign aims to achieve the collaboration of public institutions in achieving the common goal of a pollution free planet. The fossil free campaign can be carried out in various levels such as national level, state level, city level and institutional level. Though, the campaign does not require majority support of the community, it requires active public engagement to make the campaign successful. The campaign has faced many challenges and achieved positive results since its implementation. The major results and outcome of the fossil free campaign are described as below:-

• “Fossil Free Banks” initiative is a very important outcome of Fossil Free Australia campaign. It has clearly identified four biggest Australian banks named Westpac, NAB, Commonwealth and ANZ as major investors of fossil fuels. They have cumulatively invested around $70 billion to the coal and gas projects of Australia which can harm the climate and life-ecosystem. For this reason, Fossil Free Australia is inviting engagement of local customers of the banks. Though the initiative has a long way to realize its true potential, it aims to consistently build public pressure on the major banks to divest from fossil fuels.
• “Fossil Free Super” is another crucial initiative and outcome of fossil free campaign in Australia. It has been relentlessly trying to divert the investment of the superannuation funds from the projects relating to fossil fuels. The campaign has observed that only 2% of the total investment of such funds is directed towards renewable energy sector. So, the campaign provides a clear workflow for the people to know about the status of their super funds. If the fund is investing heavily of fossil fuels, the initiative encourages the people to raise their concern to the particular fund through a platform called “Super Switch”. In case of getting an unsatisfactory reply from their funds, the fossil free super initiative also requests people to switch to a fossil free fund. Thus, it can be considered as a major outcome of fossil free campaign.
• “Fossil Free Councils” is a very important outcome of fossil free Australia campaign. The initiative is powered by the emerging trend of the local Australian governments in diversion of money from the banks that fund fossil fuels. This initiative has got a clear momentum as substantial amount of investment has been held by the 27 fossil free councils. These councils need to grow in numbers to achieve the clear objective of covering more and more Australians under the divested councils. Similarly, the Fossil Free University campaign can also be considered as a major outcome as it involves student community as major stakeholders. The concern is to make the student ecosystem more aware of the continuous financial association of universities with companies which are funding fossil fuels.    
• The campaign has been able expand to multiple geographies achieving constructive public participation. As an example, we can take the name of Fossil Free Stuttgart. It has been a successful campaign since July, 2015. It has become quite successful in introducing & strengthening ethical investment criteria in the city. Moreover, it has efficiently covered the social as well as environments aspects of investments under the campaign.
• The world wide fossil free campaign has been able to address several climate issues in multiple geographies across the world. Some of such efforts and outcomes are the Berlin Voting of Divestment, “New 200” fossil free indexes initiative as well as the “Fossil Free Fellowship” for addressing the climate concerns of Alaska.