Leonardo DiCaprio joins fossil-fuel divestment movement as group says it has grown 50-fold

Leonardo DiCaprio and a group that advocates using investment decisions to fight global warming say organizations, companies and people worth a total of $2.6 trillion have pledged to reduce or eliminate their fossil fuel investments.

The actor joined members of the Divest-Invest Coalition in New York on Tuesday to announce that the total has risen 50-fold in a year.

The group says 430 institutions and over 2,000 people have signed on. They include state and local governments, churches, universities and, increasingly, pension funds and insurers.

Last year, the group announced commitments from foundations and organizations representing $50 billion in assets. Organizers couldn't immediately say what percentage of pledgers' holdings is in fossil fuels.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America maintains divestment harms the institutions while making little difference on the targeted companies.