Boston City Council votes to divest city trust funds from fossil fuels by 2025

BOSTON — November 17, 2021 — Boston City Council unanimously passed a fossil fuel divestment ordinance and approved the Newmarket Business Improvement District at its November 17 session, while an $8 million ARPA grant for fare-free transit stalled. The divestment ordinance, co-sponsored by Councillor Lydia Edwards, outgoing Council President Pro Tempore Matt O'Malley, and then-Councillor Michelle Wu, directs the city to move roughly $65 million out of fossil fuel holdings by 2025 from a pool of approximately $1.3 billion in city-controlled trust funds. The Newmarket BID passed 12-0 on a roll call, clearing state Chapter 40-O thresholds with more than 60 percent of property owner signatures and 51 percent of assessed value within the district. At-Large Councillor Michael Flaherty moved to immediately pass the $8 million ARPA grant to fund two years of fare-free service on the 23, 28, and 29 bus lines — citing a pilot program that drove the 28 line to 92 percent of pre-pandemic ridership — but District Councillor Andrea Campbell objected, citing questions about whether the city "overpaid" for the prior pilot and calling for a public hearing before the funds are committed.