25 signatures reached
To: Coventry University Chancellor and Board of Directors
Coventry University, divest from fossil fuels
Come clean about CU’s links to the fossil fuel industry:
- Identify and publicly report all financial ties, contracts and agreements with the fossil fuel industry including direct and indirect (e.g. via banks and co-mingled funds) investments, sponsorship and advertising agreements, and research funding.
- Report on agreements and contracts with the fossil fuel industry, which should identify their start and end dates, whether they are renewed or new ties, as well as the date of negotiated termination.
- Regularly post these reports online (as opposed to being available on request), in an accessible, easily understood format, and be provided throughout the process, not just at the end.
- Publish the raw data behind all of these reports for independent analysis.
Break ties with the fossil fuel industry:
- End current investments in fossil fuel companies immediately and shift funds to lower risk, ethical investments.
- No longer partner with or accept funding from fossil fuel companies.
- Terminate existing agreements and contracts, including sponsorships, advertising, and funding.
- Make no future investments or partnerships with fossil fuel companies.
Why is this important?
We're all part of institutions that ought to be looking out for the public good, from city and state governments to religious institutions to other kinds of charities and non-profits. Most of these institutions invest money in stocks and bonds, and have a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying our future, and reinvest in solutions to climate change.
Even as extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy, floods, droughts and fires threaten to overwhelm local budgets, federal inaction to solve this crisis is all but stalled. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry.
The bottom line is this: divestment is the only moral choice for institutions that care about the planet and its residents. Solving the climate crisis is the only practical choice for governments that care about their solvency.
We're asking for these institutions to:
1. Immediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuels.
2. Divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.