100 signatures reached
To: Executive Vice President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou
BARD COLLEGE FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT PETITIOn
As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Bard College to immediately freeze any new investment in companies directly linked to fossil-fuel, to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds and to give a press statement to the media that we have divested for reasons stated below. We believe such action on behalf of our College will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.
Why is this important?
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 and already America has seen its first climate change refugees. 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.
How it will be delivered
The campaign group will deliver the petitions in person.