On December 16, 2015, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels issued this report. This is great news! The committee members agree that fossil fuel companies cause social injury and that U of T should divest. Now, we have to make sure that President Gertler accepts and implements their recommendations. Sign this petition to help hold him accountable!
Dear President Gertler,
The recommendations recently made by your Advisory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment reinforce the implications of the COP21 Climate Conference in Paris: the fossil fuel era is over. I support their well-researched stance that “fossil fuel firms engaging in activities that blatantly disregard the 1.5-degree threshold are engaging egregiously in socially injurious behaviour” (p.12), and their conclusion that the University should “divest from its direct holdings in such firms” (p.12). I urge you to accept their findings and immediately begin implementing their recommendations.
As a student at U of T, I am proud of the academic reputation of this institution. I expect the University to uphold its academic integrity by following the recommendations of this expert committee, as well as respecting recognized climate science. This is especially important to me because of the impact that climate change will have on my future. My generation will have to bear the burden of the adverse effects of climate change, so I expect that a University which claims to prepare me for the future will take swift action, using its influence to help avert catastrophe.
I look forward to reading your response to the recommendation in the near future.
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