25 signatures reached
To: President & Board of Trustees
Divest CMU
We urge institutional leaders to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies, and divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
200 publicly-traded companies hold the vast majority of listed coal, oil, and gas reserves. Those are the companies we’re asking our institutions to divest from. Our demands to these companies are simple, because they reflect the stark truth of climate science.
200 publicly-traded companies hold the vast majority of listed coal, oil, and gas reserves. Those are the companies we’re asking our institutions to divest from. Our demands to these companies are simple, because they reflect the stark truth of climate science.
Why is this important?
Carnegie Mellon University’s mission statement promises: “To serve our students by teaching them ... the value of a commitment to quality, ethical behavior, and respect for others”. Simply put, much of the way that fossil fuel and coal companies operate is not ethical. By investing in these companies, CMU is not living up to these promises made to its students. We want to help CMU keep that promise by petitioning the administration to divest.
CMU claims that its vision is to promote and inspire innovation that will benefit society. But by aligning itself with fossil fuel companies, CMU is aligning itself against innovation. Fossil fuel companies lobby against renewable fuels and spread misinformation about climate change and the renewable energy industry. By investing in fossil fuel companies, CMU is condoning these actions, rather than vilifying them. By investing in fossil fuel companies, Carnegie Mellon is ignoring the fact that while climate change can be mitigated with technology, it is also a political, economical, and cultural issue. While innovation is important, even the most advanced technology will not save us if it is not backed with legislation, funding, and the acceptance of the population. Fossil fuels companies are doing their best to keep renewable energy unfunded, unpopular, and without legislative support. This has to stop.
By choosing to stigmatize fossil fuel companies rather than support them, CMU can help make this happen. Carnegie Mellon will meet the changing needs of society by taking this stand with us and continuing to build on its traditions of leadership and innovation within an ethical frame.
CMU claims that its vision is to promote and inspire innovation that will benefit society. But by aligning itself with fossil fuel companies, CMU is aligning itself against innovation. Fossil fuel companies lobby against renewable fuels and spread misinformation about climate change and the renewable energy industry. By investing in fossil fuel companies, CMU is condoning these actions, rather than vilifying them. By investing in fossil fuel companies, Carnegie Mellon is ignoring the fact that while climate change can be mitigated with technology, it is also a political, economical, and cultural issue. While innovation is important, even the most advanced technology will not save us if it is not backed with legislation, funding, and the acceptance of the population. Fossil fuels companies are doing their best to keep renewable energy unfunded, unpopular, and without legislative support. This has to stop.
By choosing to stigmatize fossil fuel companies rather than support them, CMU can help make this happen. Carnegie Mellon will meet the changing needs of society by taking this stand with us and continuing to build on its traditions of leadership and innovation within an ethical frame.