What is Divestment?

 

When you invest your money, you might buy stocks, bonds or other investments that generate income for you. Universities (and colleges in the US), as well as religious organizations, retirement funds, and other institutions put billions in these same kinds of investments to generate income to help run their institutions.Divestment is the opposite of an investment–it simply means getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are unethical or morally ambiguous. Fossil Fuel investments are a risk for investors and the planet–that’s why we’re calling on institutions to divest from these companies.

 

There have been a handful of successful divestment campaigns in recent history, including Darfur, Tobacco and others, but the largest and most impactful one came to a head around the issue of South African Apartheid. By the mid-1980s, 155 campuses—including some of the most famous in the country—had divested from companies doing business in South Africa. 26 state governments, 22 counties, and 90 cities, including some of the nation’s biggest, took their money from multinationals that did business in the country. The South African divestment campaign helped break the back of the Apartheid government, and usher in an era of democracy and equality.

 

What is an Endowment Fund? 

 

An investment fund set up by an institution in which regular withdrawals from the invested capital are used for ongoing operations or other specified purposes. Endowment funds are often used by nonprofits, universities, hospitals and churches.

 

What are we asking for? 

 

We are asking for two things: 

• For the University of Guelph to freeze all further investements in fossil fuel companies 

• To divest the endowment fund completly within the next five years from fossil fuel companies 

 

Why Divestment? 

 

Stopping fossil fuel infrastructure projects are important. Coal plants cause asthma and dump mercury into the air and water; fracking fluid can leak into groundwater and make people sick; pipelines can leak, and so on. We can and should stand with people on the front lines of these fights to stop projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, that would destroy communities and the planet, and contribute to climate change.

 

But, we can’t stop global warming one pipeline, coal plant or fracking well at a time–the numbers just don’t add up. At the same time that we’re working hard to stop these destructive projects, we need to loosen the grip that coal, oil and gas companies have on our government and financial markets, so that we have a chance of living on a planet that looks something like the one we live on now. It’s time to go right at the root of the problem–the fossil fuel companies themselves–and make sure they hear us in terms they might understand, like their share price.

 

How do I learn more? 

 

There are many different websites, news articles, and organizations advocating and assessing the impacts of divestment. Here are some useful links that can help you get strated on your learning! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I get involved? 

 

We would love to hear from you! You can email us at fossilfreeguelph.gmail.com to learn about when we meet, what your involvment could be and the next steps for the campaign. If you want to get together just to talk about divestment we would also love to hear from you!