The presidential committee at the University of Toronto just recommended divestment!
They lay out criteria for excluding stocks based on their climate change impact and “recommend… that the University of Toronto instruct its investment managers to divest immediately” from such holdings.
They specifically identify ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, the Peabody Energy Corporation, Arch Coal Inc., Alpha Natural Resources LLC, Cloud Peak Energy, and the Westmoreland Coal Company for divestment.
Look for more information on this in the hours ahead from UofT350.org and Toronto350.org.
U of T looking to divest itself of some fossil fuel firms
University of Toronto should divest from fossil fuel firms, advisory committee recommends
U of T committee recommends going ahead with targeted fossil fuel divestment
U of T advised to sell coal, oil assets in its funds
A U of T advisory committee is recommending that the university sell fossil-fuel holdings in its $5.9 billion (U.S.) endowment and pension fund.
“ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Peabody Energy were directly named, but the committee said managers of the endowment – University of Toronto Asset Management – should target any company that meets the following criteria:
* It gets more than 10 per cent of revenue from coal extraction, electricity generated from coal-fired power plants, unconventional oil or “aggressive” oil extraction;
* It has knowingly spread disinformation about climate science with the aim to “thwart or delay changes in behaviour or regulation.”
“Most big Canadian oil companies fall within that,” said second-year U of T student Sam Harrison, who led the divestment effort through climate activist group 350.org, which last year called on the university to “fully divest from fossil fuel companies within the next five years” and halt new funding immediately.
Dimitri Lascaris, a partner with London-based law firm Siskinds and a volunteer board member with 350.org’s Toronto chapter, had the same interpretation.
“I don’t see how the investment manager of the endowment could keep Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor, etc. in the portfolio if U of T’s president adopts the committee’s recommendation,” he said.
Added Harrison: “This reaffirms the commitments coming out of the Paris summit.””
It is clearly a new era and groups like 350.org are leaders in it. It has taken a lot of work, but today’s recommendation is a huge step in the right direction.
Congrats Milan! All those late nights may soon pay off, and we are all indebted to you.
Congratulations on seeing the hard and effective work of you and your colleagues have such a result. I am aware of how much work, effort and thought there was.
We’re launching another push to get as many influential people as possible to press President Gertler to at least go as far as recommended by his expert committee.