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Colleges & Universities

  • Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Go Fossil Free!
    As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Southern Illinois University Carbondale 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 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 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.
    723 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Patricia Walker
  • University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Divest from Fossil Fuels!
    Climate change is widely agreed by the scientists and policymakers who understand it best to be the most significant threat facing humanity, both now and in the long term. Climate change poses many severe, wide-ranging and complicated ecological and human issues, and is a problem that is not going to disappear anytime soon. Indeed, it will only continue to worsen if the status quo is maintained and we continue down the same destructive path that we have been on since the dawn of the industrial era. However, there is hope. By significantly altering the way in which our society operates, we can reduce the negative impacts of climate change and protect our species and our planet from destruction. One such way to do this here on campus is through divestment, or the selling of university investments tied up in the fossil fuel industry. This includes companies whose primary business involves the extraction, refinement, distribution, or any other type of direct business engagement with fossil fuels, a category which is made up of the natural resources of oil, coal, and natural gas. These investments in the fossil fuel industry are oftentimes in enormous international corporations whose activities frequently wreak havoc on the environment and various peoples around the globe. By divesting, we would send a powerful message that we do not agree with the blind continuation of a fossil-fuel based society, and that we will not stand idly by while business as usual continues to ravage the planet. At the same time, we would be freeing up university resources to instead invest in more sustainable and forward-thinking companies. Through partaking in this divestment process, we would be living up to our nickname of "Eco-U" and helping to ensure a cleaner, safer, and overall brighter future for everyone.
    626 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Brian Wagenaar
  • Fossil Free Dundee
    It is recognised across the world that global temperatures must remain no more than 2°C higher than in pre-industrial times if climate change is not to destroy our entire way of life. For this to happen, study after study has demonstrated that 80% of currently known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground. This view is endorsed by mainstream elements of society, from Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, to the United Nations. Companies like BP and Shell – and the University’s investments in them—are not part of a sustainable future, no matter how they, or the University, might pretend otherwise. Small investments in renewables are far outweighed by the catastrophic impacts of continued oil extraction. In universities around this country and the world, divestment is denying these companies their moral acceptability –. All moral and financial arguments point to the same thing – divestment from fossil fuels.
    102 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Zoe MacKenzie
  • FULLY DIVEST LSE FROM FOSSIL FUELS
    Time and again it has been scientifically proven that climate change triggered by the increase of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere is directly linked to human industrial activity that is powered by the burning of fossil fuels. To stabilise atmospheric CO2 concentrations and thereby minimise the hard to predict impacts of rising global temperatures, we need to take action right now. Therefore, we the students of LSE are asking the school to disclose its endowment fund investments. If the portfolio contains investments in fossil fuel focussed companies, we will work with the the school to shift its focus towards low carbon technology and clean energy companies. We must mitigate the anthropogenic effect by addressing where our institution is investing its money.
    955 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Collective of environmentally conscious LSE students
  • UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: DIVEST FROM THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY
    Investment in fossil fuel industries drives fossil fuel consumption and its negative environmental impacts. Burning coal, oil, and gas releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, both warming and polluting the planet. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the status quo continues the planet could warm by almost 5oC by 2100 [2]. This would have a catastrophic impact on human life. It would turn our planet into one not “similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted”, as James Hansen, a top climate scientist at NASA put it [3]. The second reason is that investment in these companies gives implicit support to their activities. It is the moral duty of the University to withdraw its financial support for companies that actively contribute to global warming, the burden of which is being felt disproportionately by the world’s poorest countries, and which exacerbates global poverty. Divestment from fossil fuel firms will help remove fossil fuel companies’ social license to operate. The third reason is that investment in fossil fuel companies is illogical when set against the University’s environmental priorities. The Cabot Institute is committed to research surrounding the environment and climate change. Furthermore the university is pledging to become a net carbon neutral campus by 2030. It also has an annually reviewed environmental policy that states that, “protection of the environment is an integral part of good institutional practice” [4]. Besides its dangers, there are strong financial arguments for divestment. As the BP oil spill illustrated, fossil fuel companies operate in risky contexts that can not only damage environments and communities, but also shareholder value. Fossil fuel companies are at the mercy of regulations aimed at preventing climate change. Recent research has shown that, if regulators are serious about preventing climate change, a third of global oil reserves, half of all gas reserves, and over 80% of coal reserves will have to remain unburned to limit global warming to 2ºC [5][6]. This means fossil fuel firms would have to massively write down the value of assets on their balance sheets, leading to huge and sustained destruction in shareholder value. By divesting from fossil fuels, the University will join a long list of respected institutions already committed to going fossil free, including Stanford University, Glasgow University, Oxford CIty Council, the World Council of Churches, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The global divestment campaign is growing, and together we can make a statement about how we want our future to look. University of Bristol students and affiliates please provide student or university email addresses. [1] http://www.bristol.ac.uk/environment/bristol_european_green_capital_2015 [2] http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf [3] http://benthamopen.com/openaccess.php?toascj/articles/V002/217TOASCJ.htm [4] http://www.bristol.ac.uk/environment/policy/env_policy.pdf [5] http://gofossilfree.org/uk/about-fossil-free/ [6] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14016.html
    2,345 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Rachel Simon
  • UCL, DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS
    Climate change has already caused millions to lose their lives and livelihoods after only one degree of global average warming [5]. ‘Business as usual’ scenarios see us facing up to six degrees of warming and hundreds of millions suffering. It’s time to take this problem on at its source: the fossil fuel companies. If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. UCL cannot continue to use its funds from students, alumni, trusts and grant-making bodies to fund fossil fuel companies through its portfolio of investments. UCL's academics show a strong consensus on the effects of climate change, taking it into account in their research and making constructive proposals for how we can respond to and overcome it as a society. UCL is giving money to further this positive research yet chooses to invest in the fossil fuel industry, the root cause of climate change. This shows massive disrespect to their own staff, to the future of their students, and to all those around the world suffering the effects of climate change but also from the human right violations carried out by fossil fuel companies. With 1/4 of UK universities now having divested, 16 of which in the last year, UCL is losing its chance to lead the way towards a more sustainable world, proving that management prioritises profit over the protection of the environment, the future generations and the voice of thousands of students and academic staff who support divestment. In the ultimatum letter we sent to management in November 2016 we received more than 100 signatures from academic staff who support divestment [6]. How long will management keep disregarding the views of its student body and staff? One of the few counter-arguments management has presented is that they are scared divestment would negatively affect UCL's engineering department. However there is no evidence that by divesting UCL will risk its sponsorship from fossil fuel companies and jeopardise the ties the Engineering department have with them. All other universities who have divested still maintain links with the companies with no effect on their students future relations with these companies whatsoever. It is therefore high time we DEMOCRATISED our university and TAKE ACTION to prevent further planetary degradation. We as students, academics and above all citizens, have the power to change the world. References: [1] http://www.ucl.ac.uk/white-paper/mission [2] UCL Investment Portfolio, December 2012. [3] http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/08/Unburnable-Carbon-Full1.pdf, p.13-14. [4] UCL Ethical Investment Policy, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/finance_docs/investment_policy.htm [5] DARA, Climate Vulnerability Number 2010 http://daraint.org/climate-vulnerability-monitor/climate-vulnerability-monitor-2010/ [6] Open Letter to UCL Management http://fossilfreeucl.tumblr.com/openletter
    3,586 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Natasha Gorodnitski
  • Baylor 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 Baylor 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 Baylor 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
    26 of 100 Signatures
  • Divest Now!
    The number one threat to human existence and the quality of life is climate change. We are undergoing the most rapid change in biodiversity since the extinction of the dinosaurs (65 MYA). Roughly 150 species are lost everyday because of human activities. This is a mass extinction event happening silently around the world. Do we not value what the Earth has given us? It has given us life, the materials for creativity and innovation, and through evolution a complex brain that is the only product of the known universe that can consciously recognize and study...the universe. The human species relies on the world's ecosystems for our air, food, and water, yet we are casually decimating every ecological system on Earth by continuing to extract and burn fossil fuels. If fossil fuel corporations are able to continue to have their way, we are going to lose our civilization. Antartica's glacial melt is growing exponentially. The average world temperature has already risen 1 degree celsius and the damage is catastrophic. 2003 France/West European heat wave (kills 70,000 people, that was only with a 0.8 C change), 2015 Superstorm Sandy, the largest coral bleaching in recorded history, the polar vortex in 2014 and 2015, the California drought, and worldwide coastal flooding are all side effects of this warming. The world temperature will rise another 1/2 degree celsius even with immediate action. Without action, the warming reaches 2 degrees celsius by 2036. Climate analysts say the door to keep the 2 degrees C change from occurring closes in 2017. A 2015 study by the University of Florida states that based on current CO2 levels in the atmosphere, we are in for a 5-9 meter rise in sea levels no matter what. The majority of the world's most populace cities are situated along the coastline, with a rise of sea level so great they will be submerged. And where do all of those who are displaced go? The hundreds of millions of people around the world? Civilization will collapse. We have already seen this in the Syrian civil war, the first civil war caused by climate change (5 years of no rain). And the 2 degrees are just an average. In the poles the temperature increase is greatly exaggerated, as well in Africa. The agricultural systems in Africa would cease to exist. In order to save the Greenland ice-sheet we would have to cut emissions by 80% before 2020. This is not possible, especially when the fossil fuel industry is continuing to expand and has the profit motive to do so. Educational institutions around the country have already begun to divest from the fossil fuels industry, making inroads to erode the profit of carbon based fuels. The effectiveness of the divest movement was demonstrated against apartheid in the 80s and was one of the main reasons apartheid in South Africa was unraveled. When fossil fuels companies are finally held accountable for the external social costs of burning fossil fuels, a clear pathway to clean renewable energy can be made. A path that creates jobs and grows a clean economy. Let us follow in the footsteps of Germany and other modern countries and make the switch. This is the most difficult problem in the history of human existence and it is our generation that must solve it before it is too late. Let the University of Florida lead the way by setting this benchmark for other institutions across the country to follow. Let our slogan hold more meaning. It's great to be a Florida Gator.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Zach Isler
  • University of Turku: Go Fossil Free
    Miksi tämä on tärkeää: Yliopistoilla on moraalinen vastuu yhteiskunnan korkeimman tiedon lähteinä hyödyntää omassa toiminnassaan parasta olemassa olevaa tietoa. Tiedeyhteisön yhteisymmärrys on kiistaton. Emme voi polttaa edes puolta maailmanlaajuisista fossiilisten polttoaineiden tunnetuista varannoista aiheuttamatta tuhoisaa ilmaston lämpenemistä. [2][3][4][5] Ilmastotieteilijät ovat yhtä mieltä siitä, että fossiilisten polttoaineiden käyttö on suurin yksittäinen syy antropogeeniseen eli ihmisen toiminnan aiheuttamaan ilmastonmuutokseen, joka aiheuttaa äärimmäisen vakavia ekologisia ja sosiaalisia katastrofeja. [2] Turun yliopiston tulisi johtaa omalla esimerkillään ilmastonmuutoksen hillitsemistä harjoittamalla entistä kestävämpää sijoitustoimintaa niin ympäristön kuin taloudenkin kannalta. Hiilikuplalla tarkoitetaan fossiilisia polttoaineita tuottaviin yhtiöihin liittyvää taloudellista riskiä, joka johtuu alihintaisten kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen aiheuttamasta markkinahäiriöstä. Hiilikupla on saanut useita sijoittajia vetämään sijoituksensa pois näistä yhtiöistä. [6][7] Yliopiston siirtyminen fossiilisten polttoaineiden tuottajista vapaaseen sijoitusstrategiaan olisi vahva signaali yliopiston henkilökunnalle ja opiskelijoille siitä, että yliopiston johto tunnustaa tieteellisen tutkimustyön tulokset ja pyrkii kehittämään yliopiston toimintaa entistä kestävämmäksi. Yhteiskunta tarvitsee edelläkävijöitä, jotka luovat uuden normaalin ja motivoivat muita osallistumaan uusien parhaiden käytäntöjen omaksumiseen. ------------------------------------------------------ Why is this important? Universities have the moral responsibility to act according to the leading sources of scientific research and education in a society. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of the world's fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. [2][3][4] Scientists agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify tragic climate disasters. [2] University of Turku should take the lead in confronting climate change by promoting sustainable and financially sound asset management practises. Carbon bubble is a term used to describe the financial risk related to companies holding fossil fuel reserves as governments move to fix the market failure caused by uncontrolled carbon emissions. [5][6][7] Divestment would send a strong signal to the University's staff as well as current and future students, that the University will take action for a sustainable future. Society as a whole needs leadership from organisations that shape the future and motivate others to join and implement best practises. [1] http://gofossilfree.org/companies/ [2] http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg1/WGIAR5_SPM_brochure_en.pdf [3] http://carbontracker.live.kiln.it/index.html?CMP=twt_gu [4] http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus [5] http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/ [6] http://gofossilfree.org/endorsements/ [7] http://www.carbontracker.org/report/carbon-bubble/ [8]http://www.tyy.fi/sites/tyy.fi/files/attachment/liite1_talousstrategia_edustajistolle.pdf
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    Created by Valtteri Moilanen
  • FULL Fossil Fuel Divestment for the University of Reading
    We are in the midst of a climate crisis and holding investments in fossil fuel companies is immoral. The current investment practices of the University are in direct violation of their investments policy, which clearly states: “The University of Reading believes in socially responsible investment and responsible stewardship. It expects its investment managers to take account of social, environmental and ethical considerations in the selection, retention and realisation of investment.” The University is recognised for producing world-class research on climate change and takes active steps to improve sustainability on its campuses. However, full fossil fuel divestment should be at the forefront of any sustainability strategy, and the University cannot make claims to be sustainable without it. If Vice Chancellor Robert Van de Noort wishes to make the University of Reading the “greenest university”, then full divestment is a necessity.
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    Created by Chloe Bartlett