“We’re moving quickly to make sure that Boston will set the tone for what’s possible for that brightest green future for all of our kids.”
By Christopher Gavin The Boston Globe
November 22, 2021
Less than a week after taking office, Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday signed her first law — a landmark regulation that will bar city funds from being invested in fossil fuel industries.
The new rule, passed by the City Council last week, bars the city’s Treasury Department from using public money to invest in companies that earn more than 15 percent of their revenues from selling tobacco products and fossil fuels, or from jail and prison facilities.
In all, that’s $65 million the City of Boston must fully divest by the end of 2025.
Monday marked the end of a legislative push for Wu that spanned nearly her entire career in elected office: She had previously fought for city action on this front since 2014 alongside fellow city councilors Matt O’Malley and Lydia Edwards.
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