A recent controversy has emerged over the fossil fuel investments of Baillie Gifford, an asset manager that has sponsored ten literary festivals in Britain. The literary collective Fossil Free Books has targeted Baillie Gifford, demanding divestment from fossil fuels. This follows the California lawmakers' decision to kill a fossil fuel divestment bill. The debate has sparked discussions on the effectiveness and motivations behind divestment activism, with critics citing moral smugness and indirect links to fossil fuels.
So @NaomiAKlein signed a letter demanding @BaillieGifford divest from Israel, writers boycotted, and the company simply pulled out. Klein's reaction? "They are thin skinned." Funny how bullying sometimes backfires: https://t.co/9iu7JGAKWM
NEW: ESG activists are pressuring American companies to divest from Israel—and have been ever since October 7. It’s failing miserably. My debut for the newly-independent @DailySignal: https://t.co/WR0WxOSiTT
The idea that any investment outfit, or indeed any person, could sever every remote and indirect link to fossil fuels or Israel is an adolescent fantasy, as a recent row over Baillie Gifford reveals https://t.co/2B1jGSuUtN 👇
Fossil Free Books, a literary collective, recently set its sights on Baillie Gifford, which had sponsored ten literary festivals in Britain. The activists' convoluted strategy betrays childish misconceptions about money, morality and power https://t.co/dUYsOzCELT 👇
A literary collective has set its sights on Baillie Gifford, an asset manager, over fossil-fuel investment. The row smells like activism aimed less at global warming than the warm glow of moral smugness https://t.co/J4pfcNaVOD 👇
Editorial: Shame on California lawmakers for killing fossil fuel divestment bill again (via @latimesopinion) https://t.co/Tu9W47sqFl https://t.co/SqV6RFr2qN
The limits of divestment activism https://t.co/dM9gKmqY7e | opinion