By not implementing LD 99, MainePERS is remaining invested in an industry that is polluting and harming communities across the world. 

• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR)  

• According to 2022 data, MainePERS has over $2 million invested in KKR, a private equity firm. According to the report Uncovering KKR’s Environmental Responsibility Gap, 78% of KKR’s energy portfolio companies are rooted in fossil fuels, despite KKR’s claims of prioritizing the environment. The report shows that KKR has financed the: 

• Coastal GasLink Pipeline in British Columbia, Canada

• Port Arthur LNG Project in Texas, United States

• Cameron LNG Project in Louisiana, United States

• KKR’s co-acquisition and backing of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline is particularly concerning. Amnesty International published a report in December 2023 documenting human rights violations against Wet'suwet'en land defenders as the pipeline has been constructed. 

• Read here how KKR-owned Spur Energy pollutes New Mexico communities.

• ArcLight & Blackstone 

• According to 2022 data, MainePERS has over $80,000 invested in ArcLight. According to a 2022 report by Americans for Financial Reform, ArcLight ranks second highest in Private Equity Firms Power Plant Holdings by Carbon Dioxide Emissions. According to the article The Price of Private Equity’s New York Power Plant Grab, “Since 2000, ArcLight has paid over $700 million in penalties for environmental and safety violations.” 

• ArcLight has been behind the following projects: 

• The Gen J.M. Gavin coal plant, “which was the third dirtiest polluter of all GHG emitting facilities in the U.S. in 2020.” ArcLight and Blackstone (MainePERS also has over $5 million invested in Blackstone) co-own the plant, along with other gas and coal-fired assets (source). 

• The Oswego Harbor power plant, which spilled over 45,000 gallons of oil into Lake Ontario (source).