Climate Action Coalition at the University of Alberta
Ethical Investment
Climate justice movements around the world have been pushing financial institutions to move capital from corporations engaged in fossil-fuel extraction, refining, and transportation and to increase investment in renewable energy production and other sectors of a new post-carbon economy. They have been demanding that public institutions such as universities divest their endowment funds and pension plans from fossil-fuel-sector corporations, and that they insist that banks and investment funds in which they hold shares do the same.
In Canada, there are active divestment movements at many universities, including Concordia, l’Université du Québec à Montréal, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, University of Toronto, University of Northern British Columbia, McGill University, Queen’s, and York University.
At the University of Victoria, 77 per cent of the members of the Faculty Association voted in 2019 to support the university’s divestment from fossil fuels. They argued that such a move is consistent with the university’s commitments to “promoting sustainable futures” and “fostering respect and reconciliation” with First Nations. A large majority of UVic faculty have also voted to divest their pension fund from fossil fuels. A description of the first leg of the divestment campaign at UVic is here: https://www.martlet.ca/divest-uvic-its-time-to-break-up-with-fossil-fuels/. For more information about DivestUVic click here.
Groups at York University have been pushing for divestment from fossil fuels since at least 2016. Fossil Free York published a document making the case for divestment in July 2016. A cross-constituency advisory committee on responsible investment voted in March 2017 to recommend university divestment from fossil fuel companies. This move was supported by the York Federation of Students and by the York University Faculty Association. A revived climate action group at York, the YUFA Climate Emergency Committee, is calling upon the university’s Senate to adopt climate change as “the grand challenge” of the university’s Academic Plan for 2020-2025.