People & Planet

New Campaign Campaigns

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  Make UCLan Fossil Free

  Climate change caused by greenhouse gases is one of the most serious threats to the future of the planet and we are already beginning to see its effects both globally and locally, with extreme weather events such as storms, droughts and flooding becoming more common. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate it will have devastating effects on our planet and communities. By divesting our university's money from fossil fuel companies we will be helping in the fight against climate change. Not only are fossil fuel companies harmful to the planet, they are also an unsound investment, with the value of many companies falling drastically. It would be better to remove our money sooner rather than later. UCLan has a reputation as a very green university, clearly its investments should reflect this. Several UK universities have already divested from fossil fuels, surely it's time to join them.

  91 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Robert Price
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  Fossil Free UWE

  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.

  46 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Louise Hazan
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  Divest Clare Hall from Fossil Fuels

  We petition Clare Hall to divest because scientific evidence shows that catastrophic environmental breakdowns are imminent if drastic changes are not made very soon. Climate change is a matter of social justice and financial responsibility. Marginalized populations are already and will continue to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Divestment weakens fossil fuel companies’ social legitimacy and sends a message that ‘business-as-usual’ is unacceptable. We petition Clare Hall to recognize the social and financial value of divested portfolios. Fossil free funds have been shown to perform on par with or better than conventional investments. Managers experienced with ESG investing can help make this a feasible and financially responsible path. We support the proposal for divestment to also include targeted investing in businesses that promote sustainable environmental practices and better energy alternatives to fossil fuels. We also petition Clare Hall to divest because we believe that it would align with the College’s history of operating on progressive values, and its stated commitment to improving energy conservation and reducing our carbon footprint. Finally, we petition Clare Hall to divest because it represents an opportunity to join the 988 institutions already committed to divestment globally (combined worth $7.18 trillion), and to show leadership where our university has so far not done so. As more colleges consider taking similar action, we believe that Clare Hall can be a leading, influential voice in the local and international debate on divestment from fossil fuels, as one step in the broader challenge of addressing climate change. For sources and the full policy proposal document contact [email protected]

  121 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Clare Hall Fossil Free
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  Divest Birkbeck

  Investment in fossil fuel industries drives fossil fuel consumption and its negative social and environmental impacts. Burning coal, oil, and gas release CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, both warming and polluting the planet. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the status quo continues, the planet could warm by almost 5°C by 2100. This would have a catastrophic impact on human life. It would mean that our planet bears little resemblance to the one in which “civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted”, as James Hansen, a top climate scientist at NASA, put it. The second reason is that investment in these companies gives implicit support to their activities. It is a matter of social justice and duty that the University withdraw its investments in companies that actively contribute to global warming, the burden of which is being felt disproportionately by the world’s poorest countries, who are contributing least to climate change. Not only does this exacerbate global poverty, but it also perpetuates further social inequality between the global South and the global North. Divestment from fossil fuel firms will help remove fossil fuel companies’ social license to exploit the world's most impoverished nations. The third reason is that investment in fossil fuel companies runs contrary to the University’s environmental priorities. The University is pledging to reduce carbon emissions and embed sustainability into its business model and institutions' culture. It intends to be fully compliant with environmental legislation and promote environmental responsibility. On this basis and in light of the Paris agreement, we believe that we must act to help avert irreversible damage to ecosystems and life on earth. Fossil fuel companies are now subject to regulations aimed at preventing climate change. Recent research has shown that, if regulators are serious about mitigating climate change, a third of global oil reserves, half of all gas reserves, and over 80% of coal reserves will have to remain in the ground to limit global warming to 2ºC. This means fossil fuel firms would have to massively write down the value of assets on their balance sheets, leading to huge and sustained destruction in shareholder value. By divesting from fossil fuels, the University will join a long list of respected institutions already committed to going fossil free, which include over 50% of all UK universities (https://sustainability.nus.org.uk/divest-investold/articles/over-50-of-uk-universities-divest-from-fossil-fuels), including Goldsmiths, Bath Spa University, Manchester University, Oxford City Council, Trinity College, the World Council of Churches, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The global divestment campaign is growing, and together we can make a statement about how we want our future to look. We urge all students, alumni, staff and members of the public to sign the petition to support the divestment campaign at Birkbeck, and an end to social and environmental devastation. _________________________________ NOTE: This petition was updated on 25 February 2021 to reflect the latest available investment figures disclosed by Birkbeck in January 2021.

  555 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Suzanne Henry
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  Fossil Free Dundee

  It is recognised across the world that global temperatures must remain no more than 2°C higher than in pre-industrial times if climate change is not to destroy our entire way of life. For this to happen, study after study has demonstrated that 80% of currently known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground. This view is endorsed by mainstream elements of society, from Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, to the United Nations. Companies like BP and Shell – and the University’s investments in them—are not part of a sustainable future, no matter how they, or the University, might pretend otherwise. Small investments in renewables are far outweighed by the catastrophic impacts of continued oil extraction. In universities around this country and the world, divestment is denying these companies their moral acceptability –. All moral and financial arguments point to the same thing – divestment from fossil fuels.

  102 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Zoe MacKenzie
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  University of Liverpool: Divest from Fossil Fuels

  This is important because the University of Liverpool currently invests £12 million per year in the fossil fuel industry, which is 8% of their endowment. The time to reduce fossil fuel consumption is running out, and by not divesting, the University appears to be endorsing the actions of the fossil industry, and thereby failing to act on the issue of human-induced climate change. Climate change negatively affects the poorest most, and by not divesting from fossil fuels the University shows a callous disregard for the poorest populations and most vulnerable. The university is home to a leading institute for renewable energy research, yet they cannot actively be a world leader in green energy whilst funding the most polluting industry on earth. The students of this University clearly care about the environment and have created a movement within their Guild of Students to help implement a greener University (Green Guild). If this University wishes to abide by the active will of the student body, they will divest from this morally corrupt and ethically questionable industry without delay.

  201 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Joe Ferguson
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  Divest Ulster University from Fossil Fuels

  The Students’ Union recently received a response to their freedom of information request Ulster University on their investment portfolio. We had inquired as to Ulster University’s direct investments through Innovation Ulster and those made indirectly through it’s Endowment Fund. It was found that the University invests its Endowment Fund through the Rathbones Active Income and Growth Fund. Without taking into consideration the fund’s direct investments, and bearing in mind that the total amount of money Rathbones are managing for the University is over £7 million, it has invested approximately £80,000 in fossil fuel companies such as Dutch Shell and BP. Furthermore, the University also have significant investments in the tobacco industry (Over £26,000) and most worryingly in the arms industry (£13,000). In this current climate we believe this money should be invested into student facilities and more sustainable alternatives.

  7 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Campaigns Officer
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  Divest York from Fossil Fuels

  The University is failing in this commitment to not knowingly invest in companies whose practices pose a risk of harm to individuals or groups. The combustion of fossil fuels is responsible for 87% of all human carbon dioxide emissions which drastically contributes to anthropogenic climate change which in turn kills approximately 600,000 people yearly. As of last calculations, the University of York has £217000 invested in Fossil Fuels, and with 68 Universities already having pledged their commitment to divest from Fossil Fuels -including our rivals York St. John, it's about time the University of York did the same. The University of Edinburgh has divested over £6.3 million from fossil fuels, surely York can divest £217000.

  1,309 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by YUSU Environment
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  Stop University of Derby investing £1,579,677 in Fossil fuel industries

  Fossil Fuels have a devastating negative effect on the environment, as the production and the consumption contributes significantly to global climate change. They are responsible for the increasing amount of harmful chemicals such as carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. We should be investing in renewable energy sources rather than directly supporting and funding corporations such as British Petroleum (BP), who are accountable for environmental disasters such The Deepwater Horizon Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. As an institute of Higher education how can we publicly support such corporations that attempt to green wash the facts?

  252 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Saskia Taylor- Doyle
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  University of Sheffield for Fossil Free Research

  Fossil fuel companies are driving and profiting from the climate crisis and the havoc it is wreaking to the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. The University has committed to financial divestment, but this is not enough. By severing its research links with the fossil fuel industry, the University can become fully fossil free and most effectively revoke the social license it affords to fossil fuel companies to perpetuate climate chaos and stop contributing to the production of co2lonial knowledge used to extract fossil fuels itself.

  487 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Ruby Lee