Meeting Time: November 05, 2024 at 9:00am PST

Agenda Item

4d) Discussion and Possible Action Regarding a Request that the County Treasurer Plan to Divest from Royal Bank of Canada (Sponsor: Supervisor Williams)

   Oppose     Neutral     Support    
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    lester smiley 16 days ago

    My name is Lester Smiley. As a Mendocino county resident and father of two, I urge the country to divest from Royal Bank of Canada in alignment with our policy of discouraging investments in fossil fuels and weapons not used in national defense. The investment in question directly fuels the genocidal violence in Gaza that threatens the established rule of law, and directly supports Israel's efforts to destabilize the region. We must at the very least divest from the funders of this genocide, whether they fund the bombs that are dropped on defenseless children huddled in a tent after a year of facing constant bombardment, or the bulldozers which are used to drive over the living and dead bodies of Palestinians and those who stand with them.

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    Robert Js 16 days ago

    Hello, my name is Robert Joseph. I am writing to you today to voice my support for the divestment of the county from the Royal Bank of Canada. The RBoC is notorious for their investments into fossil fuels and overseas weapons manufacturing. As our county has a policy encouraging the avoidance of businesses and entities that engage in or promote such activities, it would be in all of our interests to divest from the RBoC and reinvest in entities that promote social justice, human rights, sustainable development, and a clean energy transition. Thank you for your time.

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    Jordan Uggla 16 days ago

    I’m a resident of Ukiah and I support removing the investments of Royal Bank of Canada. It is a step in the right direction for fighting climate change.

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    Sara Carrillo 16 days ago

    I support removing our county's investments from the Royal Bank of Canada. We, as a county, have values to uphold, and this is one small step we can take today to ensure we are doing so.

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    Madison Loftus 16 days ago

    Mendocino County has values. We don’t always have much, so it’s important for us to support our values with what we do have as a community. If we want to this county to continue to be a leader in making a better world, we have to assess the organizations we do business with. The Royal Bank of Canada has several investments that do not align with the investment policy of Mendocino County. We need proper review and a process of determining who shares our values of mitigating climate change, war, and natural disasters, and who is indifferent to our suffering, supporting fossil fuels and weapons of war. Please begin the process of removing The Royal Bank of Canada from our portfolio and thereby create a process for assessing our investments and continually searching for better, and possibly more profitable, investments. Thank you.

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    Cecelia Sullivan 16 days ago

    I support removing investments in Royal Bank of Canada. The weather events this year have been alarming in scope and number. The County should not profit from activities that are contributing to a great number of deaths (now and in the future). Removing investments in this bank would follow the County’s investment policy.

    Thank you.

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    Linda Helland 16 days ago

    Dear Mendocino County Board of Supervisors:

    I urge you to use your authority in the service of democracy and enact the will of the majority of the residents of Mendocino County and cease investing the people’s money in the Royal Bank of Canada.

    The investment in Royal Bank of Canada reaches maturity in January of 2025 and can thus easily be terminated. Royal Bank of Canada is the 7th largest financier of the fossil fuel industry globally, providing over $42 billion US in funding. Royal Bank of Canada helped to make possible the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline, in violation of the ancestral rights of the local indigenous tribe.

    The County investment policy already “discourages” investments in fossil fuels and weapons not used in national defense. So why is our money still invested in Royal Bank of Canada? Our investment policy needs to align with the values of the people, who have made it clear they oppose funding climate chaos and weapons to steal land and resources from Indigenous people of color.

    Mendocino County should join other California counties and stop investing in fossil fuels and weapons of war that kill civilians and exacerbate the climate crisis.

    I happen to spend 50+ hours a week addressing the health impacts of climate change professionally. The US military is the world’s number one institutional user of fossil fuels, and thus the world’s foremost institutional climate polluter.

    Royal Bank of Canada is a significant financier of Palantir, a surveillance company whose Artificial Intelligence products are used to target civilians around the globe, and finances weapons profiteers Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, who are major contributors to both climate polluting emissions and war for profit and resource theft.

    I am also a former county employee looking to eventually retire with a secure pension, so the performance of county investments is of great personal importance to me.

    Numerous studies have shown that the investment performance of portfolios that exclude fossil fuel production companies does not significantly differ in terms of risk and return from unrestricted portfolios. A meta-study of almost seven thousand companies over forty years researchers concluded that “divesting from fossil fuel production does not result in financial harm to investors, even when fossil fuels continue to play a dominant role in the energy mix for some time” (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2020.1806020#abstract). So let’s put to rest any assertion that performance will suffer if the County implements its investment policy. In fact, quite the contrary, many analyses show that portfolios do better when they eliminate fossil fuels, which will soon become stranded assets if the climate pledges of states and countries are met.

    I am aware there are other players with investments pooled with those of the County, such as MCOE, the College, School District and the cemetery. And, the County is the major player, with the lion’s share of the investments, and can provide ethical and fiscally sound leadership for the others in the pooled investments.

    I don’t want my retirement income to come from weapons profiteers who’ve made a literal killing off Indigenous children and women, and from fossil fuel companies making the future unlivable for our grandchildren. We don’t have to do that. We can be consistent with our policy and stated goals in the Climate Emergency Declaration. We can do well while doing good. Please take the easy and ethical step to remove Royal Bank of Canada from the County portfolio today.

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Linda Helland
    Ukiah CA

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    Annabell Guinan 16 days ago

    My name is Annabell Guinan. I am seventeen and a senior at the Mendocino Community High School. Having been born and raised on the coast, I have been given an opportunity unique to many my age. I grew up in a community surrounded by nature, where camping in the redwoods and swimming in the rivers of Mendocino were widely accessible to me. Through these experiences, I have seen firsthand the damage climate change has had on our ecosystems, from a shorter river season due to the influx of algae growing earlier in the year to no rain for months, leaving our communities in major droughts, resulting in our wells running dry. Until one day, we have so much rain our roads flood, and our power has been turned off for unknown amounts of time. To what we now call fire season, when is it normal to expect fires so much that you call it a season? When these fires occur, our sky, once a clear blue, now becomes orange and so smoky that breathing outside in some areas is unsafe. How many fires do I have to see burn before we start creating real change?

    I am extremely grateful that you, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, have unanimously passed Resolution 24-121, which states that our county is in an active climate crisis. Please continue to take all of the actions you can, as small changes can go a long way in creating change.

    To that end, Mendocino County’s tax dollars should be used to better our community and not benefit another company like the Royal Bank of Canada, which is a huge investor in fossil fuels, therefore funding the continual abuse of our planet and humanity. Our county investment policy has already “discouraged” investments in fossil fuels and weapons, so why do our county’s tax dollars still indirectly fund these investments? Many other counties in our region, such as Sonoma, San Mateo, and San Diego, as well as cities such as Palo Alto, Alameda, Oakland, and Fremont, have withdrawn investments in fossil fuels. We must follow their example and create a greener future for new generations. Our county can no longer allow our tax dollars to support this broken system. These issues will only worsen the longer we wait, furthering the destruction of our forests, rivers, and lakes.

    Taxes are meant to better our communities, such as maintaining our roads, paying our county workers, and creating recreational opportunities. Our tax money is not meant to damage our earth further than it already is. There is no time to sit around and wait. Our planet is dying, with our tax dollars bankrolling a faster death. I will not sit by and watch as generations before me have. We cannot wait for our problems to fix themselves. To make change, we need to act now; time is of the essence, and the sooner we act, the sooner we can begin restoring our communities, instead of sending our tax dollars to places that willfully continue to support the very companies that are destroying our ecosystem, homes, and businesses.

    In conclusion, I encourage you to divest our tax dollars from the Royal Bank of Canada, preventing our county from further aiding the Royal Bank of Canada's fossil fuel investments. We are counting on you.

    Thank you,
    Annabell Guinan
    Mendocino, CA, 95460

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    Ronilyn McDonald 17 days ago

    I absolutely support the county enacting its admirable stand of discouraging investments that contribute to war and/or climate change, by actually prohibiting such investments. Royal Bank of Canada is a worthy place to start.

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    Lama NasserGammett 17 days ago

    Dear Board of Supervisors, Thank you for adding this important issue to the agenda. As a Palestinian-American I have been appalled and heartbroken watching the US government fund and support the genocide of my people. As a citizen of Meondocino County, a place I love and have chosen to raise my family, I encourage you to divest from RBC and any other company that profits from suffering and exploitation. We can be the ones without blood on our hands. This is a time for courage and standing up for humanity.

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    Mendocino County For Ethical Investing Group 17 days ago

    From our associate:
    Sharon Fee, Little River
    I am a retired U.S. State Department, Foreign Service Officer with 24 years Overseas Development experience. I now live in a Senior Coop Community of 150 residents in Little River, Ca District 5. Our Community is founded on living close to nature and respecting our environment. We believe in protecting Mother Earth and all its inhabitants for future generations. We are grateful the County has an investment policy that ENCOURAGES investing our tax dollars in companies that are environmentally sound and discourages INVESTING IN COMPANIES THAT RECEIVE A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEIR REVENUES FROM THE MANUFACTURER OF FOSSIL FUELS, AND WEAPONS NOT USED IN OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE. Both significantly contribute to the climate crisis we are now in.
    However six million of our tax dollars have been invested in the Royal Bank of Canada and that is against this policy. They are one of the largest financiers of the very destructive Fossil Fuel Industry. The Royal Bank of Canada invests heavily in Fracking, Tar Sands and Pipelines. The fossil fuel industry needs the bank’s money, our Money, in order to continue this Climate destruction. In addition, the Royal Bank of Canada invests in companies that produce weapons used to kill civilians and destroy the environment. I saw first-hand what these weapons do to civilian populations. I served in the Middle East as a United Staes Agency for International Development Officer for nearly four years. I managed U. S. funded projects in Gaza . My work included:
    -Repair of cinder block homes built for refugees that had been destroyed by bombs.
    -Construction off a School for hearing impaired children. Gaza has thousands of hearing-impaired children due to bombings and congenital problem.
    -The use of these weapons causes severe destruction in the densely packed Gaza Strip. Another project I managed involved the construction and repair of UNRWA schools for Refugees. The US taxpayer pays both for construction and repair.
    70%of the arms used to destroy Gaza have been funded by US taxpayers. The US will likely be asked to repair infrastructure which is now 85% destroyed.

    We do not want our tax dollars to go to bombing then repairing countries in an endless cycle of destruction. We urge you to vote to eliminate funding military arms and environment damaging weapons of destruction Those funds could be used to address local issues which surely need to be addressed. Thank you.

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    Ellen Buechner 17 days ago

    I am a constituent from Caspar who strongly supports divesting from instruments and organizations that contribute to toxic world conditions, such as genocide and the climate catastrophe. How we invest our money displays our values as the community of this County to the world. Let's be leaders in showing that real change requires the courage to choose a better way. Thank you, Ellen Buechner

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    Helen Duffy 17 days ago

    My name is Helen Duffy. I am a resident of Ukiah, homeowner, taxpayer and retired public employee. I’m here to ask you to support the proposed changes to strengthen our County’s ethical investment policy. I am especially urging the County Board to immediately divest from The Royal Bank of Canada which effectively serves as a front organization for fossil fuel producers and weapons manufacturers.

    The fire danger that has become a fact of life here is only one of the myriad disastrous effects of climate change we are subject to. Our investment policies, individually and publicly must change in order to step back from this catastrophe and the economic difficulties ahead if we continue to use public money to feed the international arms industry, the principal winner of wars around the globe.

    To continue Mendocino County’s relationship with the Royal Bank of Canada is to continue investment in Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing and other merchants of civilian death in other countries. I ask that you follow the lead of other California Counties stop investing tax money in fossil fuels and weapons of war that kill civilians and add to the climate crisis.

    We need divestment from the Royal Bank of Canada and we need a clear, strong policy for truly ethical investment of public funds. Thank you for your consideration.

    Helen Duffy
    Ukiah CA 95482

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    Rosi Acker 17 days ago

    I am in support of divesting from Royal Bank of Canada. It finances oil fracking, one of the most destructive practices for oil extraction and water contamination. Does Mendocino County want to be associated with investing in such destructive practices at this late point in our climate crisis? Thank you Supervisor Williams for bringing this item to the agenda.

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    Laurel Krause 17 days ago

    Dear Mendocino County Board of Supervisors,

    For over 20 years I have been a tax-paying citizen of Mendocino County.

    In the 20 years I’ve lived here, paying my property, sales and assorted other taxes, I have NEVER wished for my Mendocino tax dollar contributions – joining other Mendocino citizens-paid tax dollars – be invested in perpetrating inhumanities such as war, genocide and/or contribute to climate crises via fossil fuels.

    May I suggest Mendocino County, hear the voice of its citizens and take action to quickly change course by CEASING all investments and association with those who abuse the environment, our planet and humanity?

    From what I understand, there is wording in the Mendocino County Financial Plan that DISCOURAGES investments in fossil fuels and weapons not used in national defense. Obviously, the ‘discourage’ wording has not been effective in limiting wrongful investment. Case in point Mendocino County still invests in Royal Bank of Canada, the 7th largest financier of fossil-fuel globally as well as a premier funder of top US weapons manufacturers. Just one example and it’s still going down.

    When did the government of Mendocino County get in the business of investing and funding war, genocide and abuse of planet Earth? For what purpose? … to make a faster buck? When did the County start thinking citizens of Mendocino County were in favor of funding war, genocide and fossil fuels? We are not!

    May I suggest the Mendocino Board of Supervisors dramatically improve the wording of their Financial Plan, by changing the wording from discourage to FORBID?

    Next step, clean house. Audit all investments and associations to remedy and divest from any Mendocino County contribution to war, genocide and the destruction, abuse of our land, our world.

    Will Mendocino County join other sane and humane counties around the world in ceasing all investment in fossil fuels and weapons of war?

    Watching from the Mendocino coast with great interest as I hope my suggestions, along with suggestions from so many other citizens, will be enacted as soon as possible.

    Thank you. Peace and healing!

    Laurel Krause
    from the Allison Center for Peace

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    Kristin Hills 17 days ago

    I support this position because the Royal Bank of Canada is the 7th largest financier of the fossil fuel industry globally, providing over $42 billion US in funding.
    It helped to make possible the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline, despite indigenous rights.
    It is a large financier of Palantir, a surveillance company whose AI products are used to target civilians across the world, along with financing other large weapons companies Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing.

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    David Martinez 17 days ago

    I am David Martinez, I live in District 5, I am in complete agreement with the following statement.
    It is essential we follow through with not supporting the fossil fuel industries and providing and developing weapons of war to other countries.
    Our tax dollars should be spent on saving the environment, promoting world peace, also we need to support the indigenous communities of the country, Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the indigenous and not the profit based research that drives the destruction of natural resources.

    Banking on Climate Chaos

    New 2024 Report “Banking on Climate Chaos” shows that the Mega Banks continue to finance fossil fuels at even higher rates despite the Paris Accord. Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada are in the Dirty Dozen ranking 3 and 7 https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org

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    Good summary of 2024 Banking on Climate Chaos report https://docs.google.com/document/d/14QlAXgXZ6HAJlP6W0Tu2iZIRnatL5OVKc5YGPJE7u7Q/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

    The Banking on Climate Chaos report remains the most comprehensive analysis of the top 60 banks by asset size financing of fossil fuel companies.

    Lending & underwriting totals for the top 60 banks globally.

    · Covers 4228 companies with fossil fuel business, 10 unconventional sectors, and companies expanding fossil fuels.

    · Banks see and confirm their data before the report is published.

    · All of the bank financing that fuels climate chaos is completely preventable

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    Forbes May 2024 covered the BCC report-discussing Banks and their support of fossil fuels https://www.forbes.com/sites/feliciajackson/2024/05/13/banks-back-fossil-fuels-with-71-trillion/

    Financial institutions continue to bankroll climate change despite rapid increases in extreme weather events and their impacts. Funds going to fossil fuels delay the low carbon transition – so it seems as if financial institutions are ‘banking on climate chaos.’

    Greenwash remains a significant concern for the financial sector in large part because of growing consumer interest in using one of the only tools at their disposal for taking climate action – choosing where to invest their money. While many consumers are increasingly choosing to make investment choices on the basis of environmental benefit, recent research shows that many such ‘green’ investors have their investments with providers with the worst environmental records.

    ++++++ https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2024/05/top-6-us-banks-financed-fossil-fuels-18-trillion-paris-agreement-chase-citi “New York, NY — Released today, the 15th annual Banking on Climate Chaos (BOCC) report employs a new, expanded data set that credits each bank making financial contributions to a deal instead of only crediting banks in leading roles. It cuts through greenwash, covering the world’s top 60 banks’ lending and underwriting to over 4,200 fossil fuel companies and the financing of companies causing the destruction of the climate, ecosystems, and communities around the world. A backgrounder of the report’s key findings can be found here.”

    STOMPING ON INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND Sovereignty

    The following article discusses protest at RBC’s shareholders meeting bringing up their links to fossil fuel extraction, their military links especially with Palantir Technologies, and violations against Indigenous peoples.

    https://nbmediacoop.org/2024/04/10/rbc-faces-pressure-on-fossil-fuels-indigenous-rights-following-demonstrations/

    More fossil fuel and indigenous rights violations https://thenarwhal.ca/royal-bank-fossil-fuels-reputation/

    https://nbmediacoop.org/2024/05/14/canadian-banks-play-outsized-role-financing-fossil-fuels-report/

    The following link has a good spreadsheet of RBC’s investments in supporting Israel’s assault on Gaza. https://bdscoalition.ca/2024/04/02/rbc-investments-complicit-with-war-crimes-and-genocide/

    Another short article but with lots of resource links at the end. https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press-release/61411/students-climate-activists-protest-rbc-presence-at-royal-canadian-geographical-society-gala/

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    Andy Wellspring 17 days ago

    I am very happy this is on the agenda and I support you taking this step, there are better ways to invest our tax dollars that earn as much return without the moral problems of RoyalBank of Canada. I urge a yes vote as a way to actualize our county’s stated values in our investment policy. I appreciate our stand in favor of nature and reducing climate change, and our stance against weapons investments; it is clear that removing our funds from Royal Bank of Canada will be in alignment with, and honor, our county’s great goals. Thank you.

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    Katherine Flink 17 days ago

    My name is Katherine Flink, I have been a farmer, case manager, and educator in our county since 2017. I am now training to become a physician. I am speaking now because I will not be able to be present later when this is discussed. Today, you are going to hear from an impassioned community of people who believe that we can and must do better with our financial choices. A community of people who see the emergency of our times and realize we need to be doing everything in our power to ensure a viable future for the planet and humanity. We will be speaking to you about why we should remove our investments from Royal Bank of Canada, and reassess our investment policy. Royal Bank of Canada is the 7th largest financier of fossil fuels in the world, and bankrolls companies that produce weapons used against civilian populations across the world. As fossil fuels production and use has been recognized more for the harm it does to the planet, it has become less socially acceptable to invest in the companies responsible for their production. You will find numerous entities that no longer invest in the Chevrons and Exxons of the world. But as the industry adapts and production increases (not decreases), these companies are still in need of funding to do business. This is where mega-banks step in to provide that funding without being called out specifically for being “fossil fuel producers.” I would encourage us all to not be deceived by this reordering. It is the megabanks who provide the vital funding required to produce fossil fuels. And since the Paris Agreement in 2016 there has been more fossil fuel production than before. We need to take swift action, as recognized in the recent climate emergency resolution the board unanimously passed. As citizens one of our only ways to enact change is to vote with our dollar. It is our tax dollars being used to support these industries poisoning our air and water, and killing civilians and we know that we can and must do better. In addition to fossil fuels, Royal Bank of Canada provides substantial funds to Palantir, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin - all companies that produce weapons used on civilian populations. These actions contradict the concerns outlined in our investment policy. In January the county’s holding in Royal Bank of Canada will be coming to maturity, it is the perfect time to remove our funds and reinvest them in entities that support humanity’s future. As the climate crisis and humanitarian crises continue to intensify it will no longer be enough to conduct business as usual and allow ourselves to be stopped from taking action because it requires some creativity to come up with better solutions. I urge you to listen to your community and remove our investments in Royal Bank of Canada and reinvest the money in just alternatives.

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    L Diamondstone 17 days ago

    I've been a resident and tax payer in District 5, zip 95415 for over a decade. I was appalled to see our tax dollars being used to accelerate climate change and the war machinery industry. Clearly the stated values of the Investment Policy are not being adhered to. The policy needs teeth to align it with stated values. In addition, the BOS needs to have better oversight if yielding all investment/divestment decision making to an unelected official and a money mangement corporation. This needs to be corrected ASAP. Royal Bank of Canada is one of several very bad County investments. Regardless of politics, consider rate of returns. These can be markedly improved even while investing in local and/or sustainable options that support the well being of our community and also do no harm to others. Prohibit using our tax dollars to investment in industries that accelerate climate change and those that cause death and destruction.