Divesting from fossil fuels means investing in our future
Sustainability and climate change are at the forefront of the national conversation — for college students, they are also an imminent issue. Young activists are challenging their universities to rethink where they invest and from whom they are receiving money. Specifically, students are asking their schools to divest from fossil fuels.
Think of divesting as the opposite of investing. It’s getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are unethically or morally ambiguous, like those relating to fossil fuel sponsorship. It means cutting ties with coal, oil and natural gas companies by moving money out of these sectors and into others, such as renewable energy, which reduce campus carbon footprints.
USC is a private institution that is not obligated to disclose the details of their investments, meaning it’s difficult for the community to find out exactly where their endowment is invested. The main information accessible to the public is in their yearly financial report, hardly a comprehensive or exhaustive document. However, large institutions with significant endowments invest in the fossil fuel industry, though students at schools like Harvard, Yale universities and the UCs have been calling for divestment for years.
It is also true that USC has received donations from prominent figures in the oil industry such as former President of The Superior Oil Company W.M. Keck, who, in 1999, donated the $110 million needed to build the Keck School of Medicine. It would be impossible to monitor every donation or investment USC makes, but there must be a desire for openness and transparency. The public, should have a right to know how their institutions manage money. And with a $5.5 billion endowment, USC has a lot of money to manage.
Refusing to support the fossil fuel industry would be monumental. The main argument against divestment is that a school’s endowment should not be used to achieve social or political change. Instead, it should be about making financially stable investments. Even if an institution balks at the idea of making a political statement, the numbers don’t lie. This year, the UC system officially pledged to make their $13.4 billion endowment fossil free. The chief investment officer for the UC system and the chairman of the Board of Regents’ investments committee revealed that the decision was not born of political pressure, but financial stability. Even after selling $150 million in fossil fuel assets, the UC system saw a $2.4 billion increase in assets over five years.
The UCs join a small group of institutions who have fully or partially divested, including the University of Glasgow, Middlebury College, Columbia University, Seattle University and Stanford University. These schools are not simply finding investment alternatives. They are committing to sustainable practices on campus by becoming nationwide leaders in sustainability. Middlebury College, for example, plans to cut energy consumption on campus by a quarter and supply all of its renewable energy from local sources.
More importantly, institutions should divest because it’s a moral imperative. Universities such as USC pride themselves on being pioneers in research, technology, business and the sciences, yet they continue to financially support companies and accept help from individuals who contradict these values. We are expected to use what we learn to make the world a better place. But how can we go on to save our planet when our institutions play a part in fueling its demise? Can we even tackle this issue without complete transparency?
The inauguration of President Carol Folt ushers in a new era for sustainability at USC. With a bachelor’s in aquatic biology and a master’s in biology, as well as a doctorate degree in ecology, it is no surprise environmentalism and on-campus sustainability are at the core of her agenda. Given her scientific background and her desire for a student-driven presidency, Folt could be an important ally and bridge between students and administrators. Students need to demand change in what could be, for the first time in a long time, a receptive audience.
Recently, at USC’s Climate Strike, student leaders and professors called on the school to divest and encouraged students to pursue green business practices in their personal careers. Folt joined the crowd, stating how overjoyed she felt seeing students protesting. “It means the world,” she told them.
Divestment, while a small sliver in a larger conversation, is a crucial starting point.