About a month ago, I had the privilege of marching alongside over 400,000 people on the streets of New York City. The crowd—that easily quadrupled the population of Guelph—had gathered, crossing the continent and ideological divisions, to deliver the unified message that inaction in the face of imminent climate change is no longer an option. We hoped that this message, which was echoed in the 2500 solidarity events taking place simultaneously across the world, would resonate with the 120 world leaders assembling in NYC that same week to set an international agenda for climate change response.
If the ‘People’s Climate’ mobilization—speculated to be the largest international peoples’ mobilization in human history— is any indication, climate change is no longer an abstract concept that we can continue to ignore. It is not a monster hidden in the closet, or a boogeyman threatening to poke its head out of the shadows; we have reached a point where climate change is an undeniable reality. It is manifest in the typhoon that devastated the Philippines last year, the droughts that have accelerated food insecurity across the world, and in the floods that annually sweep across the streets I grew up on in Pakistan. The impacts of climate change are severe and far-reaching, and we, the people, will hold our leaders accountable if they fail to respond.
How do we do this?
We can start internationally, by scrutinizing the outcomes that emerged from the UN Summit on climate change in NYC. Though there have been promising commitments, we are far from a point of international cooperation.
We can start nationally, by questioning Canada’s economic and policy-based priorities. We know that to mitigate catastrophic damage from climate change, 78 per cent of the world’s fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground. However, the Canadian federal government continues to unabashedly prioritize the growth of the oil sands, as well as the fracking of coal sectors.
We can also, in the face of political inaction, join students across the country who are waging their battle against climate change even closer to home by condemning their schools’ contributions to the growth of the fossil fuel sector. As part of the international ‘fossil free’ movement, campaigns across Canada are bringing attention to the millions of dollars that renowned educational institutions have invested in some of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. These ‘Fossil Free’ campaigns are calling for an end to, or ‘divestment’ of, these investments,
Where does the University of Guelph fit into this?
Of its $270 million endowment fund, U of G currently invests approximately 10 to 15 per cent in some of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies, such as Suncor, Shell, and various coal companies. These investments seem to starkly contradict the university’s values for sustainability.
While I personally believe that investing in companies that are directly accelerating climate change is morally questionable, it has also become increasingly apparent that this is not a financially secure decision. Last week, Mark Carney, current governor of the Bank of England, warned against the short-sightedness of investing in fossil fuel companies, stating that the “vast majority of [oil] reserves are unburnable.” Carney’s message was clear: committing to climate change mitigation and supporting the growth of the fossil fuel sector are incompatible goals. Carney’s recommendations should not be taken lightly, considering that his leadership at the Bank of Canada has been celebrated for cushioning the Canadian economy from the brunt of the 2008 economic recession.
Moreover, Carney’s cautionary message has closely followed an announcement made by the Rockefellers Brothers, an organization worth $860 million that made its fortune from oil. is divesting from the fossil fuel sector. The Rockefellers’ decision to divest signifies a monumental victory; a declaration from one of the original oil fortunes that a morally and financially sound future cannot coalesce with the growth of fossil fuel industries.
While Canadian universities have yet to commit to divestment, the pressure from students, environmental groups, and mainstream financial institutions continues to intensify. The University of Guelph is well positioned to become a trail-blazer in this area. Already, the campus divestment campaign, launched last year by the OPIRG action group ‘Fossil Free Guelph,’ has experienced substantial victories. In September, the Board of Directors for the Central Student Association (CSA), which collectively represents over 18,000 undergraduate students, voted in an overwhelming majority to affirm the student union’s support for fossil fuel divestment.
As a person that has become increasingly exhausted and disheartened by the apathy towards climate change, I have found these recent global and local milestones for the climate change movement to be incredibly empowering and touching. Living in Canada, climate change affects my life as a mere nuisance; it means more layers over the winter, more deodorant over the summer, and more complaints year-round. As a Pakistani, climate change means much more; it has caused destruction, disease, starvation, and immeasurable instability. I sincerely hope that the climate change movement continues to gain momentum— internationally, nationally, and right here at the University of Guelph.