Graham Henry (2L)
Governments around the world, including our own, have agreed that we must limit global warming to two degrees Celsius. Past this point, we reach “dangerous” levels of warming that will stress our society to the breaking point and only get worse the further we rise up the thermometer. We know what we need to do to avoid this future. Research recently published in Nature lays it out clearly: to stay below 2°C, “80%, 50%, and 30% of coal, gas, and oil reserves, respectively, would need to remain below Earth’s surface.”
How can we, as law students and members of the U of T community, help keep this carbon in the ground? A great place to start is getting our university out of the fossil fuel business.
Faced with this crisis, U of T is, with its $2.3 billion endowment, choosing to maintain significant holdings in the fossil fuel industry. It is betting on the success of these companies to do what they say they will: extract, sell, and burn all their reserves while exploring for more. These actions are at odds with the values of our institution, contribute to the destruction of the world we are busy preparing for, and certainly satisfy the criteria for divestment as set out in the U of T divestment policy.
In March 2014, UofT350.org, a student-run climate action group, submitted their divestment brief to Meric Gertler, President of U of T. We have asked the university to issue a statement of values committing to fossil fuel divestment, to be followed over the next five years with divestment of all direct holdings in the 200 fossil fuel companies with the largest proven reserves of carbon.
On receipt of such a request, the President must strike a committee to evaluate the proposal. The committee must consider prudent investment, social injury, and actions taken by national or international governments on the issue.
It would be financially prudent to divest from fossil fuels. They have dramatically underperformed in recent years, and will play a limited role in our necessarily low-carbon future. Further, numerous studies have shown that portfolios divested of fossil fuels have equaled, and sometimes exceeded, the performance of those holding onto these stocks.
The burning of fossil fuels causes great social harm. With every extreme weather event, extra day of drought, and inch of sea level rise, we see the harm happening now. It will only get worse in the future. Even more devastating, the greatest burden of climate change lies with those on the margins of society. Put simply, they are less able to pay their way out of danger.
International governments are starting to act. This December, representatives of almost every country in the world will be meeting in Paris with the goal of establishing a binding international agreement on climate change. This agreement, if successful, will put hard limits on the amount of greenhouse gases we can emit into the atmosphere.
There is overwhelming scientific consensus, and growing political consensus, that action on climate change must happen, and must happen soon. The University of Toronto should align itself with action being taken to combat climate change rather than betting on and profiting from the continued success of fossil fuels.
With what we know about climate change, and the university’s role in society, divesting from fossil fuels is not radical; business as usual is. To pull out of the fossil fuel business would be a measured, principled, and responsible move for our university. We can be a leader on climate change and a beacon of hope for our shared and sustainable future.
For more information, visit http://www.toronto350.org/divest and check out “The Fossil Fuel Industry and the Case for Divestment.” To get involved, you can find us on Facebook (UofT350/Fossil Free UofT) or email me at [email protected].
