50 signatures reached
To: UMS Board of Trustees
University of Maine System: Go Fossil Free!
Because it is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn the planet to climate disaster, we call on the University of Maine System to immediately freeze any new investments, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and commingled funds, in fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds of the top 200 companies based on their reserves still in the ground.
Why is this important?
Climate change is accelerating.
We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet; our country is experiencing record-breaking heat, droughts, and flooding, which impacts hundreds of thousands of people and costs our country hundreds of billions of dollars. The temperature of the northeastern region is increasing steadily and the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than any other ocean on the planet, as well as rapidly acidifying. This is already having major impacts on the environment and economy of Maine.
Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.
As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the University of Maine System to fully divest from the top 200 fossil fuel companies. We believe such action on behalf of the University of Maine System will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future students, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.