What is fossil fuel divestment?
Fossil fuel divestment is moving the money in the endowment currently invested in fossil fuel companies into other environmentally, economically, and socially sound investments.
How will divestment affect my financial aid?
Returns on investments are hard to predict so we cannot say exactly how the endowment would be affected (and remember the endowment could become more profitable without fossil fuel investments). We do know Pomona highly values making education accessible to all. Once agreed to, divestment will be phased in slowly and carefully and can be done so financial aid is not affected at all.
Moreover, though financial aid and the endowment are linked, the returns on the endowment are not a direct cause of how much financial aid Pomona provides. Financial aid also comes from donations. Additionally, colleges can manage their budgets so as to avoid cutting financial aid. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, Brown University's endowment shrunk 29% but its financial aid increased 10.9% in that same time period.
What will divestment accomplish?
The goal of divestment is not to financially bankrupt fossil fuel companies but to raise awareness about the responsibility institutions have to act against climate change and to show we do not support companies profiting from carbon dioxide and climate and social destruction. Divestment aims to change the economic, social, and political conversation around fossil fuels to take away the free license they have now to profit from climate destruction and to create a social and political climate that allows for moving towards a environmentally sustainable and environmentally just world.
Why divestment and not shareholder engagement?
Pomona college could use its position as a shareholder to propose that certain fossil fuel companies implement environmentally friendly practices. However, no amount of proposals will make fossil fuel companies stop extracting and selling fossil fuels. Furthermore, if Pomona college remains a shareholder, it is implicitly supporting these companies' actions. Not only does divesting demonstrates that the college does not support these companies' actions, it also places social stigma around the fossil fuel industry.
But just Pomona divesting won't do anything.
Divestment is a global movement with great momentum. Colleges, faith-based organizations, cities, pension funds, foundations, and NGOs are divesting. So far, 365 institutions have divested, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Norway Pension Fund, the World Council of Churches, Syracuse University, and Pitzer College.
For a map showing all the organizations that have divested, visit this website: https://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/
Many of the products we use are made with fossil fuels. Isn't hypocritical to condemn these companies?
We do use products made with fossil fuels, however it is still not hypocritical to call for divestment. We use products made with fossil fuels because of fossil fuel subsidies (which lower the cost of fossil fuel energy production) and the lobbying power of fossil fuel companies prevent alternatives from developing fast enough. The alternatives that do exist are too expensive for the average person to afford. Divestment is a way to change the system that allows this to occur. Furthermore, divestment is more effective than simply changing individual behavior.
What are fossil fuel subsidies: http://www.state.gov/e/enr/ffsr/index.htm
Study on the impact of divestment
http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research-programmes/stranded-assets/SAP-divestment-report-final.pdf
Fossil fuel divestment is moving the money in the endowment currently invested in fossil fuel companies into other environmentally, economically, and socially sound investments.
How will divestment affect my financial aid?
Returns on investments are hard to predict so we cannot say exactly how the endowment would be affected (and remember the endowment could become more profitable without fossil fuel investments). We do know Pomona highly values making education accessible to all. Once agreed to, divestment will be phased in slowly and carefully and can be done so financial aid is not affected at all.
Moreover, though financial aid and the endowment are linked, the returns on the endowment are not a direct cause of how much financial aid Pomona provides. Financial aid also comes from donations. Additionally, colleges can manage their budgets so as to avoid cutting financial aid. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, Brown University's endowment shrunk 29% but its financial aid increased 10.9% in that same time period.
What will divestment accomplish?
The goal of divestment is not to financially bankrupt fossil fuel companies but to raise awareness about the responsibility institutions have to act against climate change and to show we do not support companies profiting from carbon dioxide and climate and social destruction. Divestment aims to change the economic, social, and political conversation around fossil fuels to take away the free license they have now to profit from climate destruction and to create a social and political climate that allows for moving towards a environmentally sustainable and environmentally just world.
Why divestment and not shareholder engagement?
Pomona college could use its position as a shareholder to propose that certain fossil fuel companies implement environmentally friendly practices. However, no amount of proposals will make fossil fuel companies stop extracting and selling fossil fuels. Furthermore, if Pomona college remains a shareholder, it is implicitly supporting these companies' actions. Not only does divesting demonstrates that the college does not support these companies' actions, it also places social stigma around the fossil fuel industry.
But just Pomona divesting won't do anything.
Divestment is a global movement with great momentum. Colleges, faith-based organizations, cities, pension funds, foundations, and NGOs are divesting. So far, 365 institutions have divested, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Norway Pension Fund, the World Council of Churches, Syracuse University, and Pitzer College.
For a map showing all the organizations that have divested, visit this website: https://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/
Many of the products we use are made with fossil fuels. Isn't hypocritical to condemn these companies?
We do use products made with fossil fuels, however it is still not hypocritical to call for divestment. We use products made with fossil fuels because of fossil fuel subsidies (which lower the cost of fossil fuel energy production) and the lobbying power of fossil fuel companies prevent alternatives from developing fast enough. The alternatives that do exist are too expensive for the average person to afford. Divestment is a way to change the system that allows this to occur. Furthermore, divestment is more effective than simply changing individual behavior.
What are fossil fuel subsidies: http://www.state.gov/e/enr/ffsr/index.htm
Study on the impact of divestment
http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research-programmes/stranded-assets/SAP-divestment-report-final.pdf