As a beneficiary of New York's Common Retirement Find, I was struck by Heather Briccetti's commentary ("Plan to divest pension fund harms workers and taxpayers," May 4). She mistakenly views the fossil fuel divestment of the pension's funds as purely political.

Worldwide, nearly 700 funds and institutions have wisely chosen to divest from these very dirty energy companies. These divestment decisions are good for environmental health, human health and financial stability.

But the main thrust of fossil fuel divestment is to encourage renewable energy use. With the passage of the Paris Accord, the excessive use of polluting fuels will draw to a close as the combustion of these mined products have been a major facet of our changing climate. More recently, we have realized the detrimental impact of fossil fuel pollution on human health.

With so much at stake for a sustainable world, the divestment from fossil fuels should never be thought of as mere "political whims" as stated by Briccetti. Environmental activists are very well-informed individuals who are in a constant search for the words and actions to steer our world in the right direction. Their push for divestment from this massive fund, which has always been well managed, is very smart.

Sally Courtright

Loudonville