350.org Canberra is a diverse mix of people working as part of 350.org globally to reduce CO2 emissions to preserve a livable planet. Photo: Chris Cooper, 350 Canberra
350.org is a global climate movement that organises campaigns, grassroots events and mass public actions, coordinated by a global network that is active in more than 188 countries. In Australia, 350.org is a not-for-profit group funded from private donations and operated by volunteers. Canberra has an active 350.org team.
350.org uses mass mobilisations and people power to effect systemic change. The campaigns strive to hold government, business and industry leaders accountable to the realities of climate science, and to principles of justice for current and future generations.
350.org also uses ‘divestment’ as a key strategy in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by encouraging investors to shift funds away from fossil fuels. For example, locally, the Australian National University decided in 2014 to divest shareholdings in seven resource and mining companies. As part of its ACT divestment strategy, the 350.org team has analysed quarterly ACT Government reports to draw attention to the role of investment choices in providing continuing support for the fossil fuel industry.
In August 2015, the ACT Government announced that it would ‘responsibly divest over a five-year period from companies that are listed in the Carbon Underground Top 200 list published by Fossil Free Indexes’.a
a The Carbon Underground 200 is an annually updated listing of the top 100 public coal companies globally and the top 100 public oil and gas companies globally, ranked by the potential carbon emissions content of their reported reserves. The list is available at http://gofossilfree.org/top-200.