Wilmington City Council to consider cutting fossil fuel investments

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington city councilman is set to introduce a proposal at Tuesday’s meeting aimed investing away from fossil fuels. 

Councilman David Joyner says the proposal would direct the city manager to examine the city’s $304 million investment portfolio, and cut investments tied to the fossil fuel industry. 

If council moves forward with the proposal, Joyner says Wilmington would become the first city in the state to fully divest from fossil fuels. 

“I think that young people in general are looking to see that the government is making decisions that are going to affect us in the future in a way that’s positive for the environment,” Joyner explained. “That’s not necessarily happening at other levels of government. So here, locally in Wilmington, I’m looking for opportunities and things that we can do right here in the city to make sure that we have smart investments, to make sure that we’re not polluting and investing in fossil fuels.” 

The full board will vote on the proposal at Tuesday night’s meeting.