Movements at universities across Canada, from the University of British Columbia to Dalhousie University, have sprung up with movements encouraging their administrations to divest from companies which produce fossil fuels, including Carleton University.
Divestment means refusing to invest in a certain industry or corporation, or to retract previously-made investments in those industries. Divestment aims to curb the large amounts of carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels, in order to combat climate change.
The Carleton Fossil Free Faculty is a group of Carleton faculty members who advocate for fossil fuel divestment, due to their concerns about its long-term effects on the climate.
Student bodies advocating for their universities to divest in fossil fuels is a movement which should be supported, due to the impact the fossil fuel industry has on climate change.
In February 2017, Université Laval in Quebec City, Que. became the first Canadian post-secondary institution to commit to divesting from fossil fuels.
The university’s announcement that it would be divesting from fossil fuels came after three months of campaigning by an on-campus student group, according to Ricochet.
Despite winning awards for sustainability, Carleton lags behind on this important measure to combat climate change. It’s time for the university to step up and earn their high ranking on the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, instead of earning revenues from fossil fuel investments.
File photo.
