Fossil Fuel Divestment: Colleges & Universities

Colleges and universities are leading the way. Students have always been key to movements of conscience, and this fight is no different.

Institutions of higher education are charged with preparing their students for lifetimes of work and service. But if those institutions are invested in fossil fuel companies, then students’ educations are being subsidized by investments that guarantee they won't have much of a planet on which to make use of their degrees.

Colleges and universities rush to launch greening initiatives, sustainability offices, and environmental curricula, but it makes no sense to green the campus and not the portfolio. Fossil fuel divestment is a reasonable next step -- and it’s the right thing to do.

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Campaigns (112)

  • Worcester
    Divest Clark University from All Non-renewables
    Climate change is accelerating at unpredictable rates; this necessitates direct and collective radical action. 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. We just witnessed one of the strongest Superstorms in recorded history. 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. It is time for Clark University, in solidarity with WPI and WSU, to join the divestment community, and extend this to the regional community at large. To remain inundated and feebly committed is to accept the certain death of the entire global community. It's time for Clark to take a stand and truly, radically, (not under presumed false guise) assist in challenging convention and changing the world.
    15 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Scott Canavan
  • Metchosin
    Go Fossil Free!
    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.
    14 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Tessa Owens
  • Greensboro
    Fossil Free UNCG
    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.
    14 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Georgette Sordellini
  • Lexington
    Divest Washington & Lee University 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.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by James McCullum
  • Divest URI
    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.
    11 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Sunrise South County
  • SF
    Fossil Fuel Divestment at CCA!
    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.
    11 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Aaron Stevens
  • Lubbock
    Divest TTU 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.
    11 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Eric Stinson
  • El Paso
    Invest in Happiness, Not Fossil Fuels
    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.
    10 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Brandon Carrillo
  • Texas State - Let's Go Fossil Free!
    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.
    10 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Michelle Brown
  • DIVEST ALL U of WISCONSIN Universities!
    Climate change is accelerating. On top of the increasingly severe weather patterns and seasons, we see a very disproportionate effect on deindustrialized rural communities, indigenous communities, and communities of low-income housing. These communities experience significant health risks due to the pollution of the fossil fuel industry. Social class, race, and the community you live in should not affect whether you have clean water to drink and air to breathe. The time to divest for the planet and for the people is now.
    9 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Mari Belina