Home / Doctors call for divestment from fossil fuels

Doctors call for divestment from fossil fuels

Abstract: The international divest–invest movement, which has been gaining momentum since it began in 2012, is making in-roads into the medical community. In 2014, the British Medical Association committed to divesting from fossil fuels and The Royal Australasian College of Physicians followed suit in June. The CMA has over $29 million in investments with 6% ($1.77 million) in the energy sector. More than 43 000 physicians invest with CMA’s subsidiary, MD Financial Management, including Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency doctor in Yellowknife. She is spearheading the move for divestment alongside the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), which has over 6000 members. Right now, physicians can choose socially responsible investing through third-party funds, but for Howard and others that doesn’t go far enough.