TO THE EDITOR:
Chancellor Folt: Students care about how our University’s endowment is invested. For the past four years, the Sierra Student Coalition’s Beyond Coal campaign has championed divestment from the coal industry.
Last February, 77 percent of students voted in favor of divestment. In September, members of the campaign delivered a presentation to the Board of Trustees calling for a working group to discuss the feasibility of divestment. This March, a panel discussion will occur on energy and investments.
As divestment campaigns gain momentum, we want to bring attention to the international scope of these missions. On Monday, Jan. 27, the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, endorsed fossil fuel divestment. In a speech he delivered at the World Economic Forum summit in Switzerland, he said that the fossil fuel industry “threatens development gains (made) over the past 20 years.”
And as the limits to the amount of fossil fuels we can safely burn become apparent, investments in these fuels, including coal, become increasingly risky for long-term investors like pension funds and universities. Kim recognizes this, stating that “’long-term investors must recognize their fiduciary responsibility to future pension holders who will be affected by decisions made today.”
Students like us are the future pension holders and the current beneficiaries of our endowment — another large financial entity invested much the same way as pension funds. We’re excited to hear such remarks from the leader of an international financial institution, and we think his wisdom can be directly applied to our endowment.
His call for corporate responsibility, sustainable development and foresight is particularly compelling, given his authority in the global financial system.
Kim made his statement as more than 300 divestment campaigns against fossil fuels — including coal — are active at colleges across the country, including all Ivy League schools and Duke University.
As global leaders assess the threat of climate change, we hope to see the University adjust its investment strategy and cease financial support of the coal industry. Our call for divestment moves forward with urgency in light of Kim’s remarks.
