Climate change is an urgent threat to our planet, and we must act now to protect our environment and health. Our generation deserves a future free from the harmful effects of fossil fuels, and UTEP can play a crucial role in leading the way. Join us in urging UTEP to invest in happiness, not fossil fuels, by signing this petition. Together, we can make a difference and ensure that our campus truly embodies the values of the Bhutanese kingdom that has inspired its beautiful architecture.

According to the United Nations, fossil fuels -- coal, oil, and gas -- are the most significant contributors to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions trap the sun's heat, leading to global warming and climate change. Warmer temperatures are changing weather patterns and disrupting ecological systems. Additionally, the climate crisis disproportionately affects poor and marginalized communities. The lowest-income countries produce one-tenth of emissions but are the most impacted by climate change. These people are vulnerable to health risks, hunger, water scarcity, education, and work-related hazards. In the United States, an EPA analysis demonstrated that the most severe harms from climate change disproportionately affect vulnerable communities who are least able to prepare for and recover from heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts. The fossil fuel industry contributes to public health harms that kill hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. each year, dispositionally endearing Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities. Extraction, processing, transport, and combustion of fossil fuels generate toxic air and water pollution. Exposure to fossil fuel pollution is linked to negative health impacts for people living near these pollution sources, especially particulate matter and ground-level ozone, which are correlated with respiratory and cardiovascular risks and premature mortality. Fossil fuels depend on and contribute to systemic racism in the United States. Racist practices, including redlining and housing discrimination, longstanding social and racial inequalities, colonization, indigenous genocide and removal, and elected official beholder to corporate power, create a system where the most dangerous impacts of pollution fall most intensely on the most disadvantaged, particularly Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities. Climate change is the most pressing issue of our generation. Without immediate action, we risk pushing our planet into a position of irreversible damage. Within the past few years, we have witnessed significant increases in sea levels, global temperatures, and extreme weather. From Hurricane Sandy alone, New York City suffered 19 billion dollars in damages, displacing 70,000 residents and causing the death of 44 people. Unless we make changes now, storms of this intensity will increase in frequency and severity. Our Jesuit university is responsible for divesting without delay to show its support against the increasing ailments caused by the climate crisis.

All of our futures are on the line. The evidence is unequivocal: continued investment in fossil fuels is wholly incompatible with efforts to avert the climate disaster. Time and time again, the university has demonstrated their complete disregard for the safety of students and the planet. They pretend to hear your concerns while failing to act in your best interests. We urge all members of the McMaster community to show your support for the striking students by adding your signature and sharing widely. Let’s show the administration that McMaster is hungry for change. ABOUT US: The McMaster Divestment Project is a student-run campaign advocating for the university to divest from the fossil fuel industry. As a part of the wider Divest Canada Coalition, we stand in solidarity with students calling for divestment on university campuses across the country. You can find more detailed information and connect with us on our Instagram: @mcmasterdivest. [1] facilities.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2021/06/McMaster-EMP-Report-2021.pdf [2] irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Jun/IRENA_Power_Generation_Costs_2020.pdf

Climate change poses an unparalleled threat to our ecosystems, thousands of plant and animal species, and the wellbeing of many people across the globe. Fossil fuels are the primary cause of this threat. Divestment addresses the risks of climate change and balances these biased structures by placing additional social and fiscal pressures on polluters that are otherwise absent. By continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies, the University of Missouri is contributing to the ongoing damage to our planet. This contradicts and counteracts the other initiatives taken by the University to be “green” such as recycling, a growing use of renewable energy sources, and courses on sustainability. Climate change is accelerating, and we are witnessing its ever-increasing effects. We have been experiencing record breaking heat, hurricanes, droughts, and other extreme weather events, impacting the majority of the population. According to the World Meteorological Organization, “The global mean temperature in 2022 is currently estimated to be about 1.15 [1.02 to 1.28] °C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average” (Eight Warmest Years 2022). To reduce the risks of climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advises that warming stay below 1.5°C. Ninety percent of coal and sixty percent of oil and fossil methane gas must remain in reserves to avoid catastrophic events from climate change (Meredith, 2021). Fossil fuel companies make a profit by extracting coal, gas, and oil. They have no intention of heeding this warning, making the investment in fossil fuel companies unethical. By remaining invested in fossil fuel companies, the University of Missouri is making a political statement: the University endorses the destruction of our planet for profit. We hope that you will join us in signing the petition to accelerate University of Missouri’s efforts to stand on the right side of this historic environmental, socioeconomic, and racial justice issue. References: Eight Warmest Years on Record Witness Upsurge in Climate Change Impacts. World Meteorological Organization. (2022, November 7). Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/eight-warmest-years-record-witness-upsurge-climate-change-impacts#:~:text=The%20global%20mean%20temperature%20in,be%20fifth%20or%20sixth%20warmest. Meredith, S. (2021, September 16). Majority of Fossil Fuels Need to Stay Underground to Avert Climate Disaster, Scientists say. CNBC. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/09/climate-majority-of-fossil-fuels-need-to-stay-underground-study-says.html#:~:text=The%20peer%2Dreviewed%20study%2C%20published,Celsius%20above%20pre%2Dindustrial%20levels.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. 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.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in the past few years our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. 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.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. 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.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. 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.

על בצלאל, כמוסד השואף להוביל, לפעול מתוך מנהיגות ולהצטרף למעל 1,400 מוסדות לימוד ברחבי העולם אשר הצהירו על מדיניות השקעות אחראית, נקייה מדלקי מאובנים. זוהי העת להתקדם, לטובת כולנו. חתמו על העצומה ויחד נתחיל לתקן לטובת עתיד צודק ונקי.

Climate change is one of the most imperative issues of this generation. The Natural Resources Defense Council contends that climate change will cost nearly $1.9 trillion annually if forced to go unchecked. This is an imperative issue that has led to loss of life and property all around the world, including here in Nebraska. In 2019, large floods led to the loss of three lives and threatened the livelihoods of thousands. The total cost of these floods were nearly $3 billion dollars, dealing a large blow to our state. As the climate crisis continues, it is more important than ever that the University takes an active role in helping prevent the issue. Climate change continues to lead to extreme weather events and cause disruption in too many lives. The University of Nebraska should follow the lead of the Association of Big Ten Students and divest from fossil fuels.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. 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.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently. Brighton is portrayed as a green haven as the only area with a green constituency, however our University currently has no action towards divesting in fossil fuels. On the 17th of January 2020 the University of Brighton declared a climate emergency. They claimed that they are committed to sustainability having already 'delivered a 34% reduction in its carbon footprint since 2010'. Even so they are ignoring the fact that they still invest in fossil fuels which we find highly hypocritical as you cannot declare a climate emergency and still be funding fossil fuels. 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.