Boston Signs Fossil Fuel Divestment Ordinance, Redirecting $65 Million Immediately

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signs fossil fuel divestment ordinance on day six of her administration. The ordinance, the first Wu signed as mayor, immediately moves $65 million in city funds out of fossil fuel investments and bars future investments in the industry; it also extends divestment requirements to tobacco and private prisons. Councilor Lydia Edwards, a co-sponsor, said "a budget is a statement of values," citing the city's Treasury Department, including staff Maureen Gosseau and Richard DiPiano, as central to ensuring the ordinance was fiscally sound. Councilor Matt O'Malley, another sponsor who began the effort with Wu in 2014, argued that the Dow Jones Sustainability Index "regularly outperforms the Dow Jones Industrial Average every day," framing divestment as a benefit to Boston pensioners and taxpayers alike. U.S. Senator Ed Markey, co-author of the federal Green New Deal, attended the ceremony and called Boston "a Green New Deal city," while environmental author Bill McKibben noted global divestment commitments have reached $40 trillion and called on the Massachusetts state legislature to divest state pension funds from fossil fuels.