Today, Northeastern University makes investments in the fossil-fuel industry that threaten the stability of our future and directly undermine our mission as an institution. Surprised? Let’s step back for a second and examine what is going on here. Northeastern University, as part of its investment strategy, chooses to allocate funds into the fossil-fuel industry. The exact amount is difficult to pin due to a lack of transparency around the general endowment pool, though most schools invest 2 to 3 percent of their endowments into fossil fuel. For Northeastern, with an endowment of $567 million, that comes out to around $17 million fueling climate change.
Human burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — is putting our world at risk. The several thousand researchers on the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change have determined with greater than 95 to 100 percent certainty that human activity is currently driving climate change. To put this into a better perspective, that’s the same degree of scientific certainty that we have that smoking tobacco causes lung cancer.
The 200 largest fossil-fuel companies hold about five times more carbon in their reserves than the international community has deemed acceptable to burn in order to avert catastrophic climate change. The fossil-fuel industry and its affiliates fight to preserve these assets – in 2012, they spent $300 million on lobbying to prevent climate change legislation in the United States alone. That same year the top 200 fossil-fuel companies spent $674 billion on exploring for further reserves. Continued investment in the fossil fuel industry provides support for these practices, and is incompatible with Northeastern’s mission.
Simply put, there is nothing sustainable about profiting off of climate change. That’s where DivestNU comes in. DivestNU is a coalition of students, organizations, faculty and alumni calling upon Northeastern to undertake divestment from the fossil-fuel industry. Divestment – the process of selling off unethical investments – offers us a chance to confront climate change to the best of our capacity, leveraging our position as students to enact change. By divesting, Northeastern can publicly stigmatize the fossil fuel industry and strip away their political clout.
In order to divest Northeastern University from the fossil fuel industry, we need to demonstrate the will of the student body clearly and effectively. We need to raise the consciousness of our community – to educate and to engage. The administration will not act on this issue until they can see that the Northeastern community cares and urges action.
DivestNU calls upon the undergraduate student body to make their voices heard on this issue by voting on March 24 – 30 in the Student Government Association (SGA) Direct Election, which will include a referendum on divestment.
On March 24, we will assemble on Centennial Common from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in support of divestment. We invite you to attend to hear from your community on why they support divestment, to enjoy music provided by our coalition partners, and for help in navigating the voting process.
Northeastern University publicly states its commitment to leadership and to sustainability, but if we are to make the claim of being the “Greenest University in America,” we cannot invest millions of dollars into the same corporations that threaten our future. Instead Northeastern University should demonstrate leadership in sustainability and global stewardship by divesting from the fossil fuel industry.
– Austin Williams is a sophomore environmental studies and political science major, and an executive board member of the Husky Environmental Action Team.
