HALIFAX – The Dalhousie Student Union, the largest student union in Atlantic Canada representing over 18,000 students, unanimously passed a motion on Wednesday calling on the university board of governors to end all investments in fossil fuels.
“Climate change and sustainability are clearly huge concerns Dal students share,” said DSU vice president Aaron Beale. “I was floored to see such strong student support for this motion – it’s rare for a campaign to be unanimously supported by DSU council.”
A student group called Divest Dal has been working since May to push the board of governors to pull investments in fossil fuel companies. The university’s endowment, which is the pot of money the board of governors invests in different portfolios, is over $411 million.
“It is morally bankrupt for an institution who claims to be a leader in sustainability to profit off the extraction of fossil fuels, the warming of the climate, and the displacement of millions of people, ” says Divest Dal member Rob McNeish.
The student group has delivered a suite of information to the university’s president, Dr. Richard Florizone, including the economic facts supporting divestment, new information about climate change and the carbon budget, and a compilation of Dalhousie’s previous commitments to climate change and sustainability.
“Divestment is a good economic decision. Investments in the fossil fuel industry are becoming more volatile as time goes on. The university would be better to put its money in sure-fire investments like community development and renewable energy,” says McNeish.
In a recent report about fossil fuel investments, the Human Impact and Profit Investor wrote, “Divestment helps reduce a portfolio’s exposure to the financial risk of investing in fossil fuels and opens the door to more sustainable profit-seeking ventures.”
“Divesting from fossil fuels is a viable option for the university, and we’re so happy to see the DSU join us in asking for it,” says McNeish.
Contact:
Rob McNeish
(902) 817-3557
robdmacneish@gmail.com
For more information about the international campaign for divestment, visit gofossilfree.org
For more information about the economics of divestment, visit http://hipinvestor.com/
A show of solidarity is also planned for the meeting of the Dalhousie University Board of Governors,Tuesday, November 26 at 3 pm in the MacDonald Building. Supporters are asked to assemble at NSPIRG at 2:30 pm.
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