Has anybody heard of fossil fuel divestment yet? Chances are that you haven’t, but you’ll be hearing a lot about it soon enough (outside of my blog, I mean). In the meantime, let me be the first to give you the let out.
Divestment is, put simply, the opposite of investment. To divest means to remove investments. In the case of fossil fuel divestment, we are referring to the removal of investments in the fossil fuel industry. Investments are what keeps Big Oil big. And by divesting, the people are able to take on Big Oil directly without going through government institutions, which have proven to be slow and ineffective at combating climate change and the industry which fuels it.
Fossil fuel divestment can occur at many different levels, including businesses, towns and cities, and colleges and universities. In fact, State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham has come out in support of a campaign to divest the borough of State College from fossil fuels. We, however, will be focusing on divestment at colleges and universities.
Most institutions of higher education have an endowment, essentially a savings account for the school. The school invests the funds in the endowment in various industries in the hopes of increasing the value of its endowment. Many schools, Penn State included, invest portions of these funds in the fossil fuel industry. This has prompted campaigns to arise at college campuses across the United States that are comprised of students who believe that it is unconscionable to fund their education with investments that condemn the Earth to climate disaster. An example of a successful divestment campaign lies in Swarthmore College, a small school outside Philadelphia. Students at Swarthmore have succeeded in convincing school administration of the necessity of divestment. Although Swarthmore’s campaign has been especially successful, it is not typical.
Divestment is not unprecedented, and it is not limited to the fossil fuel industry. It has been used before to combat racism, instead of climate change. In the 1980s, segregation was still prominent in South Africa. In response to this racism, movements began at college campuses urging institutions to divest from businesses based in South Africa. Many movements were successful, and the divestment from various businesses spread awareness of the problem and hindered the South African economy, prompting the government to end the apartheid.
The very same principles that were applied to South Africa in the 1980s are beginning to be applied to fossil fuel companies in the United States today. If the movements urging the implementation of such principles are successful, serious progress could be made in the fight against climate change.