Washington, Sep 22 (IANS): Heirs to the Rockefeller family, which made one of the world's largest fortunes in the oil business, would divest its businesses from fossil fuels and reinvest in clean energy, media reports said Monday.

"We are quite convinced that if he (John D Rockefeller) were alive today, as an astute businessman looking out to the future, he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy," BBC quoted Rockefeller Brothers Fund director Stephen Heintz as saying in a statement.

The move comes before a climate change summit organised by UN opens in New York Tuesday, the report said, adding the Rockefeller Brothers Fund would be joining a coalition of philanthropists who aim to reduce their fortune by more than $50 billion in fossil fuel assets.

"There is a moral imperative to preserve a healthy planet," Valerie Rockefeller Wayne, a great-great-granddaughter of John D Rockefeller, a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company and who defined the structure of modern philanthropy, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying.

Some 650 individuals and 180 institutions have joined the coalition, a global initiative called Global Divest-Invest.

The Rockefeller fund was founded in 1940 by the sons of John D Rockefeller. As of July 31, 2014, the fund's investment assets were worth $860 million. The charity fund has already replaced its investments in coal and tar sands entirely while investing in more alternative energy sources.

The UN climate change summit is scheduled to start Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York, with 125 heads of state and government members expected to attend. However, top leaders from Indian and China are expected to skip the summit, slated as a big event to mobilise opinion to tackle the issue of climate change.

Thousands of people across the globe Saturday took out marches to press for stronger action on climate change.