Skip to main content

To: President Elsa Núñez

Eastern Connecticut State University: Go Fossil Free!

It is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn the planet to climate disaster, we call on ECSU to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds.

Why is this important?

Climate change is accelerating.

Among the student and faculty base are parents and grandparents, as well as spouses and children. We all have a stake in this challenge, whether or not we agree whether climate change is man-made, man-accelerated or completely natural. It is shown yearly that the planet is heating up, and we cannot ignore the fact that mankind's industrialization might have something to do with this.

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 $50bn in damages, not to mention Hurricanes Irene or Katrina.

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.

As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Eastern to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe such action on behalf of Eastern Connecticut State University will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the well being of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

Eastern Connecticut State University

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Links

Updates

2013-11-21 13:58:05 -0500

10 signatures reached