More than a dozen foundations representing more than $2 billion in assets said Thursday they will stop investing in fossil fuel companies as both the World Bank and United Nations chiefs strengthen calls for divestment from "high carbon" assets. The Divest-Invest Philanthropy coalition includes foundations, such as the Park Foundation, the John Merck Fund and the Schmidt Family Foundation - co-founded by Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt - in the United States, as well as the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust abroad.Its members said continued investment in fossil fuels presents financial and ethical risks and that it urges other foundations to follow their lead."Starting today, we pledge to use all our assets - not just the usual 5 percent yearly payment of grants - to advance our goals, values and beliefs," said Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Global Fund and the originator of the Divest-Invest initiative.The foundations said they will follow in the footsteps of a few successful historical divestments, including movements that targeted apartheid South Africa starting in the 1960s.
Google Inc. (Google) is a global technology company. Shares of GOOG traded higher by 2.57% or $28.474/share to $1135.39. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $750.25 and as high as $1167.89. On average, 1724100 shares of GOOG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5141107.
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