The University of Guelph (U of G) Board of Governors has voted to reduce their carbon footprint in by 10 per cent over the next two years.
This announcement comes after a group called Fossil Free Guelph has been lobbying the school to divest from fossil fuel companies for about six years.
Divestment is the action of removing investment from a company for political or social reasons.
Universities and colleges in Canada invest money into several companies across different sectors to generate revenue for scholarships, research and equipment.
Spencer McGregor, a fourth-year organic agriculture student and a member of Fossil Free Guelph, said the university administration’s decision to reduce their footprint instead of fully divesting is a “diversionary tactic.”
“A 10 per cent carbon reduction at this point is insufficient,” he said. “Going off of the urgency of the climate crisis . . . we are asking for a full divestment from the fossil fuel industry because these are the people supplying fossil fuel and are the root cause for a lot of these problems.”
McGregor said it’s disappointing that the board did not hear their motion. He said they’ve submitted a motion prior to the meeting and gave out a written version of the motion during the meeting but it was not adopted into the agenda.
“They defined for themselves what they’re willing to do and went forward with it,” he said.
According to a media release by the university, the new plan of 10 per cent reduction will amount to a reduction of about 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide per million dollars invested. The release does not mention how much the university invests.
Franco Vaccarino, president of the U of G, said in the release that they commend Fossil Free Guelph for “their passion and commitment in bringing this important conversation to the forefront.
“They have helped the university shape thinking and discussion about positive actions we will take to meet the complex challenge of climate change,” Vaccarino said.
The group at Guelph is not the first to put pressure on their school to divest from fossil fuel companies.
In 2017, Université Laval became the first and only university to do a full divestment. However, in a statement to the Financial Post, the university announced it is backtracking on full divestment because it’s “not feasible.”
Instead, the university will track the carbon footprint of investments and expand its focus to all greenhouse gas emissions.
Other universities, such as the University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Calgary, Dalhousie University and University of British Columbia have also opted towards reducing their funds instead of a full divestment.
McGregor said Fossil Free Guelph have been meeting and discussing their next steps. He said while it might be too soon to ask for divestment now, “we won’t stop.”
He said climate change is a big issue that it’s hard to know where to go from the individual level change.
“The divestment movement is really good for having a clear, defined goal and for working together towards an institutional change,” McGregor said.
