The ‘feel good about themselves’ assumption below seems rather condescending and likely inaccurate. One panelist here in Paris made the point that divestment challenges the legitimacy and morality of fossil fuel extraction – in other words it is not just an economic strategy.
‘Before we get into the numbers, a little background. The idea behind the divestment movement is that fossil fuels are doing terrible things to the environment and that if investors withdraw capital from companies that extract and sell fossil fuels it will hinder their growth and maybe even shut them down. It’s a specious argument, but railing against oil companies makes the global warming agonistes feel good about themselves, so they carry on.’
Source: Why The Carbon ‘Divestment’ Craze Just Doesn’t Make Sense – Forbes