2015-11-04 18:26:36 -0500
To: The University of Portland Investments in Fossil Fuels
Divest UP
We ask our University to:
1. Immediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuels.
2. Divest from all companies on the Carbon Tracker 200 list within 5 years.
3. Reinvest in more sustainable companies.
Why is this important?
The University of Portland is a great University for many reasons. One of them is that UP puts a lot of effort into being environmentally friendly and sustainable. But unfortunately the University is still investing in fossil fuels through its endowment fund.
UP needs to divest, because the fossil fuel industry is everything that sustainability is not: fossil fuels are highly polluting, non-renewable, and a major cause of climate change.
Fossil fuel divestment has two goals: First, it aligns actions with values. For UP, divestment would be a great next step in becoming more sustainable, a topic that is already of such high importance to the University. Second, divestment changes the public discourse on our collective energy future.
It’s time for the University to take action.