As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the University of Chicago to immediately freeze any new investments in the fossil fuel industry and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include investments in the fossil fuel industry.
Furthermore, in the spirit of greater community participation in decision-making, we call on UChicago to take active steps towards increasing financial transparency regarding its endowment. Given that UChicago has already committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030, divesting from fossil fuels is an obvious next step on the University’s path to becoming a sustainable institution. We are all actively threatened by the effects of climate change. As students, faculty, and staff of the University of Chicago, we demand that our institution take this clear and concrete step to protect us and all of humanity.
Climate change is here, bringing with it record-breaking heat, natural disasters, and pollution. According to the Washington Post, nearly one third of Americans live in a county that was hit by a natural disaster during the summer of 2021, a number that has nearly tripled in the past five years. This year alone, natural disasters caused over $95 billion in damages in the US. We don’t suffer alone: around the world, from wildfires in Australia and the Mediterranean to flooding in China and India, natural disasters are intensifying. More than eighteen months into a respiratory pandemic, air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels still causes nearly 10 million premature deaths a year worldwide. The consensus is clear: climate change will continue to increase the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and exacerbate public health issues and structural inequality unless we stop emitting carbon.
UChicago Context
- 135 faculty members signed a fall 2021 letter asking for divestment for fossil fuels
- 440 University-affiliated individuals signed a petition from the undergraduate-run Environmental Justice Task Force
- The Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Council passed resolutions in May of 2021 asking the university to divest from fossil fuels
- Members of Phoenix Sustainability Initiative, the Undergraduate Student Government, and the Environmental Justice Task Force met with the Office of Investments in the spring to advocate for fossil fuel divestment
- The Head of the Committee on Campus Sustainability and a Student Government Representative met with President Alivisatos and Dean Michele Rasmussen to discuss environmental issues including fossil fuel divestment in fall 2022
- Several Maroon articles have been written about the topic, along with a Hyde Park Herald article about the Environmental Justice Task Force action in the spring
- Peer institutions are moving in this direction: 81 higher-education institutions have committed to fully or partially divesting around the country, including UIUC, Loyola University Chicago, and Harvard University.