Colleges and universities across the country and around the world are divesting from fossil fuels. In doing so, they are joining the fastest-growing divestment campaign in history.
The purpose of this is to leverage economic power. Britannica defines divestment as “the disposal of assets in any of a variety of ways,” such as the:
withdrawal of new corporate investment
withdrawal of available credit from banks
selling off of operating units
cutting off of operations
reduction of portfolio holdings
By removing their investments from stocks, bonds and funds, institutions are helping to pave the way toward a clean energy future and doing their part in preventing another global financial crisis. This is because divestment can shrink the “carbon bubble,” which is the world’s collective investment capital in fossil fuels.
Market myths aside, campus communities have been urging their colleges and universities to commit to fossil fuel divestment in light of moral and economic reasons. This growing movement has had a significant impact thus far.
Ivy League institutions like Harvard University and Dartmouth College will be fully divesting from fossil fuels after years of insistent activism by students, faculty and alumni. Shared governance is at the cornerstone of this success, as activists held sit-ins, met with administrators, staged faculty votes in favor of divestment and participated in overt displays of resistance.
A number of colleges and universities in the Global North have joined the divestment movement. These institutions include Rutgers University, American University, Brown University, Columbia University, Georgetown University, Middlebury College, the University of Southern California and the University of Cambridge, according to Inside Higher Ed.
“Divestment might be a powerful tool, but it has greater potential to influence corporate behavior if many institutions participate" - Emma Whitford | Reporter, Inside Higher Ed
Although the divestment campaign is growing rapidly, it has faced opposition in areas “where oil is a significant part of the economy,” Inside Higher Ed reported. In the United States, some colleges and universities have been reluctant to discuss fossil fuel divestment while others staunchly defend their investments in the oil and gas industry. Divestment advocates want to shift the prevailing energy paradigm.
It is unclear whether these institutions will heed the calls of their constituents. What remains clear, though, is the looming threat posed by the carbon bubble and the climate crisis.
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