Edinburgh University has over £230 million worth of investments. The companies receiving some of this bountiful fund include 3 arms companies. A massive 16% of the University's endowment goes to fossil fuel companies, undermining the goals of the University's 'Climate Action Plan', which aims to reduce the university's carbon footprint by 29% by 2020. On top of all this, numerous companies that the University invests in, including Shell and Monsanto, have been accused of human rights abuses. With the 3rd largest endowment fund in the UK, and the largest in Scotland, the University of Edinburgh has the opportunity to lead the way on sustainability and social responsibility in finance. The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body whose mission it is, amongst others, to ‘make a significant, sustainable and socially responsible contribution to Scotland, the UK and the world’. We want this mission to be reflected in the university’s investment portfolio.

Wij, studenten van de oudste universiteit van Nederland, vinden dat het tijd wordt om naar de toekomst te kijken en te denken aan de generaties studenten die nog komen. Om die reden roepen wij de Universiteit Leiden dan ook op om te desinvesteren en zo samen met andere aangesloten instellingen een klimaatcrisis te voorkomen. Ons team kan altijd extra enthousiastelingen gebruiken, we horen dan ook graag van je via een van onze sociale media! At this point in time, we - mankind - have the opportunity to act and stop a climate crisis from happening. Divestment from fossil fuels is a big step in this process. Leiden University, one of the most prestigious universities and the oldest university in the Netherlands, should join this campaign to show that they are not only educating tomorrow's generation but that they are also concerned about the world in which that generation - and many to follow - will live. In doing this Leiden University can show that they take sustainability serious and show society that they are willing to step up and together with others prevent a climate crisis from happening.

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.

Fossil Free är en internationell kampanj för att flytta våra gemensamma tillgångar (skattepengar och andra resurser) från investeringar i olja, kol och gas. Det är inte många institutioner idag som placerar sina tillgångar i vapenindustrin - det är helt enkelt betraktat som omoraliskt. Människor håller med varandra om att vapen inte är okej att stödja. Det vi nu insett är att även olja, kol och gas kan ses som vapen: Vapen riktade mot oss, klimatet och vår framtid. Är det då verkligen moraliskt att ha sina pengar placerade i en industri som utsätter oss alla för fara, en industri som bevisligen spenderar miljarder årligen på att genom lobbyism och klimatskeptiska tankesmedjor förhala all politisk handling riktad mot en förnybar omställning? "If it's wrong to wreck the climate, then it's wrong to profit from that wreckage!" Det finns även starka finansiella incitament för att divestera ur fossilindustrin. Vi har råd med absolut max en 2-gradig global medeltemperaturhöjning. För att hålla oss under 2 grader har vi råd att släppa ut max 565 gigaton koldioxid i atmosfären fram till 2050, detta enligt rapporten “Unburnable Carbon” från Carbon Tracker Initiative. Enligt samma rapport sitter dock fossilindustrin redan på gas-, kol- och oljekällor som vid utvinning och förbränning skulle orsaka utsläpp av 2 795 gigaton koldioxid. Utifrån detta kan vi räkna ut att 80% av befintliga fossila bränslen måste lämnas under jord, ifall vi vill bibehålla ett någorlunda stabilt klimat på jorden! Det innebär också att de pengar vi har placerade i dessa bränslen kommer att försvinna i tomma intet så snart alla inser att vi måste lämna 80% under jord - detta är en finansiell bubbla som förmodligen kommer att spricka inom en snar framtid. Inte vill väl vi förlora 80% av värdet på stora delar av våra tillgångar? Se gärna "Do the Math", en film som beskriver problematiken med att fossilindustrin ges fria tyglar (med stöd av våra pengar): http://vimeo.com/66066932

I want to invest in a livable future for all of us and the generations to come. Continued dependence on fossil fuels is not environmentally sustainable. With the escalation of global warming, it has become clear that it is financially reckless and morally wrong to support business as usual in fossil fuels development.

Today fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) stand for the biggest amount of negative impact on our climate and planet by far measures. 95% of the world's researchers have reached a consensus on the fact that climate change is mainly due to human activity. Therefore, change can happen and needs to happen now. And we need to be a vital part of that change which is the national movement Fossil Free Sweden; hence be a part of the solution for a more sustainable world. There is already a Fossil Free Lund University Campaign launched and we need to make this change happen on all levels.

Climate change has already caused millions to lose their lives and livelihoods after only one degree of global average warming [5]. ‘Business as usual’ scenarios see us facing up to six degrees of warming and hundreds of millions suffering. It’s time to take this problem on at its source: the fossil fuel companies. If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. UCL cannot continue to use its funds from students, alumni, trusts and grant-making bodies to fund fossil fuel companies through its portfolio of investments. UCL's academics show a strong consensus on the effects of climate change, taking it into account in their research and making constructive proposals for how we can respond to and overcome it as a society. UCL is giving money to further this positive research yet chooses to invest in the fossil fuel industry, the root cause of climate change. This shows massive disrespect to their own staff, to the future of their students, and to all those around the world suffering the effects of climate change but also from the human right violations carried out by fossil fuel companies. With 1/4 of UK universities now having divested, 16 of which in the last year, UCL is losing its chance to lead the way towards a more sustainable world, proving that management prioritises profit over the protection of the environment, the future generations and the voice of thousands of students and academic staff who support divestment. In the ultimatum letter we sent to management in November 2016 we received more than 100 signatures from academic staff who support divestment [6]. How long will management keep disregarding the views of its student body and staff? One of the few counter-arguments management has presented is that they are scared divestment would negatively affect UCL's engineering department. However there is no evidence that by divesting UCL will risk its sponsorship from fossil fuel companies and jeopardise the ties the Engineering department have with them. All other universities who have divested still maintain links with the companies with no effect on their students future relations with these companies whatsoever. It is therefore high time we DEMOCRATISED our university and TAKE ACTION to prevent further planetary degradation. We as students, academics and above all citizens, have the power to change the world. References: [1] http://www.ucl.ac.uk/white-paper/mission [2] UCL Investment Portfolio, December 2012. [3] http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/08/Unburnable-Carbon-Full1.pdf, p.13-14. [4] UCL Ethical Investment Policy, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/finance_docs/investment_policy.htm [5] DARA, Climate Vulnerability Number 2010 http://daraint.org/climate-vulnerability-monitor/climate-vulnerability-monitor-2010/ [6] Open Letter to UCL Management http://fossilfreeucl.tumblr.com/openletter

UH should invest in the future by divesting in oil and gas. As Bill McKibben observes, “From a selfish point of view, it’s very good for colleges that they know something about the future that others don’t. Because investing is not about what’s happened in the past – all prices are really anticipations of what’s going to happen in the future." Redirecting investments away from oil and gas sends a message to future generations that UH is doing its part to build a more sustainable future. As the campus looks to increase alternative transportation options, it makes sense that it would also move away from investing in oil and gas. As carpooling and taking public transportation dramatically reduces congestion, energy usage, and is in general more environmentally-friendly, UH can send a message to the campus community that it is serious about reducing its carbon footprint by divesting. Given the global challenges that lie ahead, Hawai'i should be a world leader in sustainability, and UH ought to be at the forefront of education and action on sustainable issues. As only a handful of other major colleges and universities have already divested, UH has the chance to show its leadership in advocating sustainability. As Donna Vuchinich, President and CEO of UH Foundation, observes, UH Foundation’s new logo, “symbolizes our mission to uphold the University of Hawai‘i’s light of knowledge, and to unite donors with the University’s aspirations with integrity, accountability and trust.” We hope that UH Foundation will invest with integrity, accountability, and trust for both present and future generations. Students are driving the campaign for a Fossil Free UH, and representatives from the Sustainable UH, ASUH, GSO, Young Democrats, the Ecology Club, and Net Impact were integral in planning this campaign. Help us build a more sustainable future for the UH System and our 'aina.

"If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage." Too many UK universities, including the University of Birmingham, support the fossil fuel industry directly through their research, their endowments and investments and their partnerships with some of the biggest fossil fuel companies in the world, like BP, Shell and ExxonMobil. The fossil fuel industry has a concerning amount of influence over our education, with numerous members of the university’s advisory board working for fossil fuels companies. These include Tony Hayward, former chief executive of BP and current Glencore chairman, and Lord Browne former chief executive of BP and Cuadrilla company director. Additionally, companies affect educational programmes by funding research and professorships, such as the ExxonMobil Teaching Fellowship, formerly held by Chemical Engineering lecturers. We believe that our educational institutions should serve the public good and live up to their promises to tackle climate change. No UK university in their right mind would accept funding from, or invest their funds into tobacco companies these days- it’s inconsistent with their research on cancer. The same holds true for fossil fuel companies causing climate change, and yet the University of Birmingham still does not recognise this. That’s about to change. UK students have decided to take on the fossil fuel industry by getting our universities to go Fossil Free. People & Planet is joining forces with the 350.org campaign that has been sweeping across North American campuses. 200 publicly-traded companies hold the vast majority of the world’s proven coal, oil and gas reserves. Those are the companies we’ll be asking the University of Birmingham to break their links with. Together they hold five times more carbon in their fossil fuel reserves than we can safely afford to burn to stop runaway climate change. From Canada’s dirty tar sands to Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for shale gas - the fossil fuel industry is scraping the bottom of the barrel and causing huge environmental and human devastation in the process. Withdrawing our institutions’ financial and moral backing for this climate-wrecking industry is crucial to tackling climate change. WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF FUNDING AND INVESTMENT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM? Renewables: most of the technology needed to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable has already been developed and is completely viable. It is simply the cultural and social custom adopted by the energy industries that needs to change. A global power shift. http://globalpowershift.org/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/ see: • International Energy Agency (World Energy Outlook Special Report 2013: Redrawing The Energy Climate Map) • Centre for Alternative Technology (Zero Carbon Britain: Rethinking the Future) • David Mackay FRS (Sustainable Energy – without the hot air) WHAT IS 'THE CARBON BUBBLE'? Investing in fossil fuels is fast becoming a risky investment: London School of Economics has reported the market will collapse in the coming years. See http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publications/Policy/docs/PB-unburnable-carbon-2013-wasted-capital-stranded-assets.pdf

UK students have decided to take on the fossil fuel industry by getting our universities to go Fossil Free. People & Planet is joining forces with the 350.org campaign that has been sweeping across North American campuses. We believe that our educational institutions should serve the public good and live up to their promises to tackle climate change. No UK university in their right mind would accept funding from or invest their funds in tobacco companies these days - it’s inconsistent with their research on cancer. The same holds true for fossil fuel companies causing climate change and yet most universities still do not recognise this. That’s about to change! From Canada’s dirty tar sands to Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for shale gas - the fossil fuel industry is scraping the bottom of the barrel and causing huge environmental and human devastation in the process. Withdrawing our institutions’ financial and moral backing for this climate-wrecking industry is crucial to tackling climate change.

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 $50bn 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. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Lehigh University to 1. immediately freeze any new investment in companies responsible for the extraction, refinement, and processing of fossil fuels, and any companies whose sole purpose is to support these aforementioned companies 2. completely divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include public equities and corporate bonds associated with the companies mentioned above 3. increase investments in renewable energy companies We believe such action on behalf of Lehigh University will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the well-being of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos. Additionally, the aforementioned actions are in alignment with the university’s commitment to service to others as discussed in the mission statement; just as graduates “are expected to live by a set of mature cultural and personal values, accept the virtue of work as a vehicle of service”, we expect these same ideals to be reflected by our administration.

If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. No UK university in their right mind would accept funding from or invest their funds in tobacco companies these days - it’s inconsistent with their research on cancer. The same holds true for fossil fuel companies causing climate change and yet most universities still do not recognise this. UEL wishes to portray itself as a green university. It is time to match their words with actions.