How Colleges are Divesting from Fossil Fuel Investments and What Students Can Do

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Most of you probably know that governments must soon change to cleaner and greener energy sources to prevent people from suffering or dying from the damaging effects of pollution and severe weather-related events.

Fewer people know that students and environmental activists have pressured university and college officials for years to divest their endowment funds (donations or gifts to educational institutions to support their missions in perpetuity) of all fossil fuel holdings.

The endowment numbers are huge. Universities and colleges have a combined total of $800 billion in endowments with investments in many places, including the fossil fuel industry.

The student’s goal is to force higher educational institutions to stop investing in companies in the fossil fuel industry and to divest all current investments in that financial sector. Divestment is one way to help force environmental changes.

The divestment pressure has shown results. Worldwide, almost 1,500 educational institutions have fully or partially divested from fossil fuels. In the United States, nearly 250 such institutions have “committed to some form of fossil fuel divestment.”

There is political pressure on both sides. On one hand, the fossil fuel industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars to lobby (and finance) politicians to maintain the status quo. More importantly, the industry creates jobs.

On the other hand, as an increase in extreme weather conditions (such as droughts, hurricanes, wildfires and floods) results in more deaths and destruction, world governments will be pressured to find alternative energy sources and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

Campaign to change university fossil fuel investments

No one said it’s easy to move from reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy, or that it will happen quickly. After all, jobs (and votes) are on the line. Another factor is that these educational institutions share in the billions of dollars in profits by collecting dividends.

Also, in certain areas of the country where oil is a huge part of the economy, such as in Texas or Alaska, divestment is not welcome.

The good news for investors is that experts say that investing in clean energy and sustainable technologies is more profitable than investing in fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency calculates that “the world now invests $1.7 trillion per year in clean energy, higher than the $1.1 trillion being invested in fossil fuels.”

As new clean and green technologies are developed, additional educational institutions may feel the pressure to divest.

Both small and large colleges and universities have already divested, including Antioch University, Dartmouth College, University of California, Chico State University, Harvard University, Wellesley College, Boston University, Georgetown University, Brown University, New York University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Unity College, Loyola University Chicago, Rutgers University, Yale, Cornell, Columbia University, and Goddard College, to name a few.

A full list of participating colleges and universities can be found here.

How to start your own divestment campaign

If you are a student who wants to start a divesting campaign at your university or college, there are steps you can take to convince the board of trustees to divert and reinvest in more environmentally-friendly companies.

First, start small by asking for a meeting with the board of trustees, or the university president. In the email or letter, politely request a freeze or drawdown in fossil fuel investments. If university officials are willing to speak to you, that is a significant first step.

However, if the board of trustees ignores or denies your request, you can take other steps:

Recruit friends, concerned citizens, faculty members, donors, or alumni who may be willing to help with a divestment campaign.

Educate students and faculty about the issue such as arranging a debate, show films, write an op-ed in the campus newspaper, write a letter to the editor of the town newspaper or have a divestment party.

Consider creating a website devoted to the divestment campaign, and using social media to bring attention to the issue. Contact the national media to request that a journalist cover the story.

Start a petition to prove there is enough interest in the issue to bring it up for discussion.
Bring the petition to the college president with letters of support from all concerned parties. Try to meet with the board of trustees again to see if they are open to change.

Not all divestment campaigns at universities have been successful even with pressure from students and faculty. If no action is taken by the college president or board of trustees, you could try to turn up the heat with campus demonstrations, sit-ins or walk-outs. Admittedly, these are more aggressive actions that few would be willing to take.

New York University success story

One divesting success story was at Manhattan’s New York University, where four student activists were given the opportunity to tell the school’s board of trustees “why the university should divest the fossil fuel stocks in its $5 billion endowment.”

The students were surprised when board chair billionaire William Berkley agreed with them. He said they no longer owned stocks in fossil fuel companies, and committed to avoid any direct investments in these companies in the future.

Another successful campaign occurred at the University of Michigan. At first, university officials aggressively resisted student’s demands, but after campus protests exploded, the board of trustees agreed to completely divest from fossil fuel companies.

Conclusion

No one is expecting the world to become fossil-fuel free anytime soon, but many, beginning with college students, are working hard to change the public’s mindset.

Environmental scientists warn that if something isn’t done now, future generations will suffer the consequences. Pressuring educational institutions to divert their money to companies that promote green and clean energy is a good place to start.