Nearby Petitions

Colleges & Universities

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  University of Sheffield for Fossil Free Research

  Fossil fuel companies are driving and profiting from the climate crisis and the havoc it is wreaking to the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. The University has committed to financial divestment, but this is not enough. By severing its research links with the fossil fuel industry, the University can become fully fossil free and most effectively revoke the social license it affords to fossil fuel companies to perpetuate climate chaos and stop contributing to the production of co2lonial knowledge used to extract fossil fuels itself.

  487 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Ruby Lee
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  Trinity College, University of Dublin, Fossil Fuel Divestment

  80% of current fuel reserves must stay unburned to have a significant probability of staying below the 2 degree limit of warming. However the markets place a multi trillion dollar value on this unburnable carbon reserve. Therefore, assuming effective legislation, to curb emissions and prevent catastrophic global warming, is introduced, this trillion dollar carbon bubble will burst. This means anyone who has investments in fossil fuel companies will suffer huge devaluation. Furthermore, actively investing money in the fossil fuel industry is effectively betting that we will not act to save the planet. This is an incredibly cynical position to take, one which hampers efforts to protect the climate and puts investors at risk of huge losses. As such, we believe divestment 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.

  1,938 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Colm Tong
• Fossil Free ULg - Pour que l'Université de Liège retire ses investissements des énergies fossiles

  Un mouvement mondial pour résoudre la crise climatique est en marche et vous pouvez y contribuer en agissant à un niveau local ! Aujourd’hui, les campagnes de désinvestissement des énergies fossiles se multiplient et nous demandons à l’ULg de se joindre au mouvement sans plus tarder. Pourquoi désinvestir des énergies fossiles ? Lors de la COP21, les États du monde entier se sont mis d’accord sur le fait que l’augmentation de la température terrestre moyenne ne doit pas dépasser 2°C (par rapport à l’ère pré-industrielle). L’accord de Paris mentionne même un objectif de 1,5°C. L’utilisation d’énergies fossiles est l’une des plus importantes causes d’émissions de CO2 dans l’atmosphère. Ce gaz est l’un des principaux responsables de l’augmentation de la température terrestre. Pour atteindre cet objectif de 2°C, 80 % des réserves connues d’énergies fossiles ne doivent pas être utilisées et doivent donc rester dans le sol. Pourquoi cibler l’ULg ? L’ULg dispose de fonds qu’elle place en bourse. Actuellement, l'université n’a pas conditionné ces placements à des critères éthiques. Une partie de cet argent est investi dans plusieurs des 200 entreprises qui disposent des plus grandes réserves d’énergies fossiles au monde et contribue ainsi à financer une industrie qui devrait d’urgence cesser ses activités. Or, l’ULg pourrait privilégier un investissement socialement responsable et investir dans des énergies renouvelables. Pourquoi votre signature est-elle importante ? En avril 2016, le Conseil d’Administration de l’ULg (CA) a été interpellé sur ses investissements et la possibilité que ceux-ci ne soient plus destinés à des entreprises ayant une activité nocive pour notre planète. A ce jour, ces demandes n’ont pas suscité d’intérêt auprès du CA. Pourtant, d'autres institutions et d'autres universités, telles celles d'Oxford, Yale et Stanford ont déjà franchi le pas et retiré leurs investissements de l'industrie extractive. Par cette pétition, nous voulons envoyer un signal fort aux autorités universitaires et leur faire savoir que nous, citoyen·ne·s libre·s et responsable·s - étudiant·e·s, diplômé·e·s, enseignant·e·s, chercheur·euse·s, assistant·e·s, membres du personnel administratif, technique et ouvrier, Liégeois·e·s ou habitant·e·s de cette Terre - n’acceptons pas que l’ULg compromette notre avenir et celui de notre planète en soutenant l’industrie des combustibles fossiles. Nous demandons à l'Université de Liège de faire preuve de responsabilité. En signant cette pétition, je marque mon soutien à la campagne « Fossil Free ULg » et demande à ce que l’ULg : - gèle immédiatement tout nouvel investissement dans les combustibles fossiles ; - établisse un calendrier de retrait de ses investissements dans les énergies fossiles pour arriver dès que possible à un pourcentage nul d’investissement dans les énergies fossiles et ce, dans un délai de 5 ans maximum. Cher·e signataire, le cas échéant, merci de préciser votre relation avec l'ULg dans votre signature (étudiant·e, membre du corps professoral, employé·e, ancien·ne étudiant·e, sous-traitant·e, etc.). Campagne soutenue par : 350.org Belgium, Barricade asbl, La Casa Nicaragua, Le CETRI, Comac ULg, écolo j ULg, ESL, Financité, Greenpeace Liège, GUS, INTAL et Universud et d'autres à venir...

  1,559 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Fossil Free ULg
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  University of Canterbury: divest from fossil fuels

  "It’s simple math: we can emit 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2°C of warming — anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The only problem? Burning the fossil fuel that corporations now have in their reserves would result in emitting 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide – five times the safe amount." – 350.org As a reputable university we have an opportunity to be leaders in a global movement that can actually bring a positive change for society. Young people are going to have to endure the effects of global climate change, and our education institutions should act to become part of the solution. Visit our facebook page to like or discuss: https://www.facebook.com/ucdivests/

  2,278 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Nick Hanafin
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  Divest QMUL from fossil fuels

  Climate change is happening and it is harmful; very few people deny this nowadays. So why is it okay for QMUL and other universities and organisations, which are supposed to be setting an example to the younger generation, to profit from this damage? Too many UK universities support the fossil fuel industry directly through their research, their endowments and investments and their partnerships with some of the biggest fossil fuel companies in the world like BP and Shell. For this reason, UK students have decided to take on the fossil fuel industry by getting our universities to go Fossil Free. People & Planet is joining forces with the 350.org campaign that has been sweeping across North American campuses. By divesting, QMUL will join many universities, religious institutions and local governments across the world that have already committed. Only with a combined effort can we make a substantial dent in the financial support that fossil fuel companies require to survive. The response of QMUL to a Freedom of Information Act request last year proved that the university does have investments in fossil fuels. However, the university refused to specify how much money and in which companies. However, the response did inform us that a meeting took place last June to discuss the possibilities of divesting from fossil fuels. The decision was made to maintain current investments but now we known they have been considering it and they can't go back. Now we need to turn up the pressure and show them we mean business! Human health at risk As seen in the QMUL Ethical Investment Policy, Queen Mary is already committed to avoiding direct investment in any company whose business activity is tobacco products, reasoning that the College seeks to promote good health through its School of Medicine and Dentistry. [1] This reasoning can also be applied to fossil fuel divestment because, as the 2015 Lancet Commission reads, climate change is “the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century”. [2] According to the World Health Organisation, from the years 2030 to 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year by affecting determinants of health such as clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. [3] It is entirely conflicting to simultaneously promote good health through the medical school and invest in companies that damage the health of the world. The British Medical Journal has appealed to health institutions to divest and early victories from the British Medical Association, the University of Glasgow and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine show that what we ask is easily achievable and health institutions should stick together and set an example to the world. The guiding principle of ‘do no harm’ should be applied to the full range of activities that Barts and the London and QMUL are involved in. Finances at risk The ethical investment policy also states that “taking ethical and environmental considerations into account in an investment decision will enhance the returns available in the long term”. [1] it is now apparent that investments in fossil fuel companies are not sustainable. The share prices of coal, gas and oil companies depend on the value of known carbon reserves. Considering that countries have agreed to limit global warming to 2°C, 80% of known carbon reserves will have to remain in the ground; [4] “the majority of the world’s reserves are unburnable” says Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England. Fossil fuel assets pose a serious vulnerability to the stability of the financial system in the carbon-constrained world of the future. QMUL is therefore exposing itself to major financial risk by continuing to invest the school’s endowments in fossil fuels. The Environmental Policy of QMUL says “the College is committed to the principles and practices of environmental protection and environmental sustainability across all areas of activity, with College-wide involvement and responsibility”. [5] It is apparent that many official policies of QMUL would converge on a commitment to divest from fossil fuels yet so far no such action has been taken. From Canada’s dirty tar sands to Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for shale gas - the fossil fuel industry is scraping the bottom of the barrel and causing huge environmental and human devastation in the process. Withdrawing our institutions’ financial and moral backing for this climate-wrecking industry is crucial to tackling climate change. References: [1] http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/docs/policyzone/118943.pdf [2] http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60854-6/abstract [3] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/ [4] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/abs/517150a.html [5] http://www.qmul.ac.uk/about/sustainability/Documents/80817.pdf

  779 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Dominic Dee
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  Divest Loyola From Fossil Fuels

  Climate change is accelerating, and we here on the Louisiana Gulf Coast are already feeling its impact. Louisiana coastal wetlands are eroding at the rate of one football field per hour as sea levels rise. Oil drilling in the gulf contributes to this land loss. The most recent National Climate Assessment report warns that Louisiana will see billions of dollars in increased disaster costs as early as 2030. This is the effect of a rise in global temperatures attributed to the burning of fossil fuels. According to the United Nations coalition of scientists, in order to prevent a global climatic catastrophe, no more than one-third of the earth’s carbon reserves owned by fossil fuel companies and governments can be extracted from the earth. Although aware of this fact, major fossil fuel companies continue to extract fossil fuels. These fossil fuel emissions disproportionately impact people of color, indigenous communities, and low-income neighborhoods. Through its investments in these companies, Loyola is supporting their efforts and injustice. Loyola students who pay tuition, as well as its donors are unwitting accomplices in perpetuating the social injustices that arise from climate change. Divesting is an ethical obligation for our community, and the future of our planet.

  379 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Pierce Nordone
• Divest VCU for Climate Justice

  Because our economy is not going to shift its dependency away from the fossil fuel industry without a push. Because Fossil fuel divestment would be a globally impactful, symbolic action for our university to take against the destruction that fossil fuels are causing right now and will continue to. Because VCU students deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

  450 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Arlo Baker
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  Divest Murdoch University of Fossil Fuels

  We have reached a landmark moment in history. For the first time in over 5 million years the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has reached 400 parts per million (ppm). 97 % of all climate scientists agree that climate change is human induced and argue that the highest safe concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is 350 ppm. If we want to secure a safe and livable future it is time to end the fossil fuel era and invest in renewable energy and sustainable lifestyles. By demanding that our local community divests from this destructive industry we are directly contributing to a better future within the framework of a larger, growing global movement. Another future is not only possible, it is urgent.

  437 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Madeleine Lundholm
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  Divest UVA from Fossil Fuels

  Divestment is the process by which an institution removes its stocks, bonds, and other investments from industries and corporations that are morally ambiguous or devoid. In a worldwide movement, over 500 institutions have collectively divested $3.4 trillion from the fossil fuel industry due to its responsibility in the climate crisis. We demand that the University of Virginia join that movement. UVA has a $7.5 billion endowment, accrued over decades from private donations and financial grants, which it invests for the future support of the University. Some of these investments are in the fossil fuel industry. UVA only spends a small percentage of its investment returns each year, though. The remainder of the endowment is invested in perpetuity. While UVA intends the endowment to benefit the futures of students, all investments in fossil fuels inherently threaten these futures. Historically, universities are platforms of social change. At the University of Virginia, we have the power to send a state- and nationwide message: profit at the cost of human lives is morally unacceptable. We ask that you sign this petition to help send this message.

  1,330 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Laura Cross
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  St. Lawrence University: Invest in our Futures

  St. Lawrence has a moral and economic obligation to end all investments that benefit from exploiting the planet that cause climate change. "Green is an unofficial St. Lawrence color because environmental sustainability is more than a core value – it’s our way of life," if we are going to advertise this, then we should live up to our principles. Climate change is the most serious problem humanity has ever faced. Now is the time to make changes, not tomorrow, not next year, and certainly not next generation. We have an obligation to ourselves and to future generations to act now. We are not fighting for the planets existence, it will be around for billions of years. We are fighting for a habitable planet for human existence. Generations from now, when they will look back at our legacies, they will see that we rose to the great climate crisis and we overcame the largest challenge humanity has ever faced.

  1,532 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by David Smith