To: Principal Hassan and the Trustees,
Phillips Exeter Academy: Go Fossil Free!
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 Environmental Mission Statement and our basic credo in goodness with knowledge, we call on Phillips Exeter Academy 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. 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 Phillips Exeter Academy 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. The Academy, according to its Environmental Mission Statement, must foster a culture of environmental awareness, and educate the community about sound environmental practices. Such action would fill our environmental requirements and responsibilities. Divestment will not only be the right decision for our institution's financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.
