Nearby Petitions

Colleges & Universities

• Tulane University: Go Fossil Free!

  Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in 2012 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. 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 Tulane University 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 Tulane University 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.

  2,154 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Aubrey Suber
• Michigan State University: Go Fossil Free!

  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 $50bn in damages. 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 Michigan State University 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 Michigan State University 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.

  312 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Jaye Elsey
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  Divest UofT

  █████████████████████████████ ➽➽➽ Burning fossil fuels causes CLIMATE DESTABILIZATION ➽ Stocks in fossil fuels are OVER-VALUED & UNSUSTAINABLE ➽➽ Divestment makes FINANCIAL + ETHICAL sense for U of T █████████████████████████████ To avoid dangerous climate destabilization the world needs to urgently move from carbon-intensive fossil-fuel production to carbon-neutral energy production. Fossil fuel companies have more than five times the reserves of carbon than can safely be burned, yet they continue to search for more reserves and increase their emissions. The high stock value of fossil fuel companies also rests on the dubious assumption that all of these fuels will be burned. In a world where fossil fuel production and consumption must be curtailed these stocks are significantly over-valued and divestment makes both financial and ethical sense. The University of Toronto is heavily invested in fossil-fuel companies, with a significant portion of its ~$1.5 billion endowment devoted to this unsustainable industry. The danger of climate destabilization obliges us to transition away from fossil fuels in the very near future.

  539 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Stuart Basden
• Divest JMU

  The Divest JMU campaign is asking the JMU Foundation to make a commitment that they will divest from fossil fuels in order to take action on climate change. This entails the removal of investments from companies that profit from nonrenewable energy resources. JMU faculty teach us about the extremely detrimental effects of fossil fuels, yet the the University continues to fund their extraction. As a university striving to be the national model for engagement, we are morally obligated to detach ourselves from an industry that contributes to and profits from damaging our quality of life and threatening the stability of our future. It is incumbent upon all of us to use our financial power to discourage these companies from continuing with this irresponsible pursuit of profit. Our reputation as a socially responsible and engaged institution hangs on this choice.

  503 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Jong Lee
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  Divest Juniata College From Fossil Fuels

  With over 395 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, climate change is already unavoidable. In our warmer world we are going to pay the price for the avarice and ignorance of earlier generations. As a supposedly sustainable institution, we can no longer afford to invest in fossil fuels. Juniata College's seal reads, “Veritas Liberat”, meaning the truth frees. The truth is, climate change is the greatest threat facing our generation, and it is time for Juniata College to take action.

  471 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Nathan Anderson-Stahl
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  Fossil Free Lund University

  Fossil Free är en global kampanj för att flytta våra gemensamma tillgångar (skattepengar och andra resurser) från investeringar i olja, kol och gas. Det är inte många institutioner idag som placerar sina tillgångar i vapenindustrin - det är helt enkelt betraktat som omoraliskt. Människor håller med varandra om att vapen inte är okej att stödja. Det vi nu insett är att även olja, kol och gas kan ses som vapen: Vapen riktade mot oss, klimatet och vår framtid. Är det då verkligen moraliskt att ha sina pengar placerade i en industri som utsätter oss alla för fara, en industri som bevisligen spenderar miljarder årligen på att genom lobbyism och klimatskeptiska tankesmedjor förhala all politisk handling riktad mot en förnybar omställning? "If it's wrong to wreck the climate, then it's wrong to profit from that wreckage!" Det finns även starka finansiella incitament för att divestera ur fossilindustrin. Vi har råd med absolut max en 2-gradig global medeltemperaturhöjning. För att hålla oss under 2 grader har vi råd att släppa ut max 565 gigaton koldioxid i atmosfären fram till 2050, detta enligt rapporten “Unburnable Carbon” från Carbon Tracker Initiative. Enligt samma rapport sitter dock fossilindustrin redan på gas-, kol- och oljekällor som vid utvinning och förbränning skulle orsaka utsläpp av 2 795 gigaton koldioxid. Utifrån detta kan vi räkna ut att 80% av befintliga fossila bränslen måste lämnas under jord, ifall vi vill bibehålla ett någorlunda stabilt klimat på jorden! Det innebär också att de pengar vi har placerade i dessa bränslen kommer att försvinna i tomma intet så snart alla inser att vi måste lämna 80% under jord - detta är en finansiell bubbla som förmodligen kommer att spricka inom en snar framtid. Inte vill väl vi förlora 80% av värdet på stora delar av våra tillgångar? Se gärna "Do the Math", en film som beskriver problematiken med att fossilindustrin ges fria tyglar (med stöd av våra pengar): http://vimeo.com/66066932 ENGLISH Fossil Free is an international campaign to move our common assets (tax money and other resources) from investments in oil, coal and gas. There are not many institutions today that invest in the weapon industry - it is simply regarded as immoral. People agree with each other about weapons is not okay to support. What we have realized, is that oil, coal and gas can be seen as weapons as well, weapons directed against us, the climate and our future. Is it then really moral to have ones money invested in an industry that puts us all at risk, an industry that evidently spends billions annually to procrastinate any political act directed against a renewable conversion, through lobbying and climate skeptic think tanks? "If it 's wrong to wreck the climate , then it's wrong to profit from that wreckage ! " There are also strong financial incentives to divest from the fossil industry. A 2 degree global temperature rise is the absolute maximum we can afford. To stay below 2 degrees , we can afford to emit maximum 565 gigatons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 2050 , according to the report "Unburnable Carbon" from Carbon Tracker Initiative. According to the same report , the fossil industry already holds gas, coal and oil sources that would cause the release of 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide when extracted and incinerated. From this we can understand that 80% of existing fossil fuels must be left in the ground, if we want to maintain a reasonably stable climate on earth! It also means that the money we have invested in these fuels will disappear into nothing as soon as everyone realizes that we have to leave 80% in the ground - this is a financial bubble that will probably crack in the near future. We surely don't want to lose 80% of the value of much of our assets? The film "Do the Math" above is a movie that describes the problems associated with our financial support to the fossil fuel industry.

  2,163 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Lisa Brand
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  SOAS: DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS

  If you think we have a lot of poverty, conflict and injustice in the world today, imagine a world with 4 degrees C of global warming. This is where we are headed by the end of this century, according to the most recent projections, if we carry on emitting CO2 the way we are now. [1] Those who will be hit hardest and first live in countries of the Global South, which lack the resources to adapt to this dramatic change in climate. Yet these people have made virtually no contribution to this problem. The responsibility for these emissions, and the power to reduce them, lies with the industrialised economies of the Global North. So far, we have failed to take action. Our governments and institutions continue to invest vast sums in companies extracting oil and gas, giving them huge public subsidies that have helped to make them the most profitable companies in the world. SOAS is famous for our passion for promoting the peoples and cultures of Africa and Asia. Yet when faced with the problem of climate change, which poses the greatest threat in human history to those very peoples and cultures, SOAS too has failed to take action. SOAS still holds investments in a number of fossil fuel companies. We need to shift our money away from these companies today if we are to have any hope of preventing climate disaster. By divesting from fossil fuels, SOAS will join dozens of other universities, religious institutions and local governments across the world that have already committed to going fossil free. Together, we can make a substantial dent in the financial support that the fossil fuel industry needs to survive. We will also send an important signal to our governments and private sector about the urgent moral and financial imperative of shutting down fossil fuels. In doing this, we form part of an illustrious history of university divestment campaigns shifting public opinion on the great moral issues of our day-- from the anti-apartheid campaigns of the 1980s to SOAS’ own divestment from the arms trade in 2005. “To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of your armchair. I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific and see the impacts of rising sea levels… to the large deltas of the Mekong, the Ganges, the Amazon, and the Nile where lives and livelihoods are drowned… to the vast savannas of Africa where climate change has likewise become a matter of life and death … And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines right now.” -Philippines delegate Yeb Sano at the opening of the UN climate negotiations on 13 November 2013, before embarking on a hunger strike [1] http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5_WGI-12Doc2b_FinalDraft_All.pdf

  1,054 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by SOAS students
• University of Pennsylvania: Go Fossil Free!

  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 $50bn in damages. 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 The University of Pennsylvania 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 The University of Pennsylvania 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.

  331 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Brendan Sculley
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  Divest St Paul's School from Fossil Fuels

  Because it is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn the planet to climate disaster, and because our continued investments in fossil fuels violates both our School's founding Statement and our basic belief in goodness with knowledge, we call on St Paul's School to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within one year from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We would prefer to divest responsibly in top 100 polluters first.

  73 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Divest SPS
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  Whitman College: Go Fossil Free!

  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 $50bn in damages. 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 Whitman College 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 Whitman College will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s long-term financial stability, 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. Additionally, divesting would reinforce and legitimize Whitman's environmental commitment while also reflecting our institution's progressive social stance.

  607 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Sierra Dickey