Since August 2012, Bowdoin students have been voicing their support for divestment from the top 200 fossil fuel companies within five years. This week, Bowdoin Climate Action is proud to say that we have collected the one-thousandth student signature calling for Bowdoin to divest. Now, over half of the current student body supports divestment. Prominent alumni, from Auden Schendler ’92, the Vice President for Sustainability at Aspen Ski Co. to Scott Budde ’81 a former portfolio manager at TIAA-CREF, have supported our activism. Last year, 24 professors wrote a letter to thank us for our efforts on behalf of climate justice. We would like the administration to acknowledge the deep concerns of the Bowdoin community by publically accepting the petitions next Friday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m. on the Park Row side of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. We students will gather there, and we invite you to join us.
Divestment is a moral imperative for an institution dedicated to the common good. The 1,000 students who have signed the petition stand with student organizations on over 500 college campuses, as well as dozens of churches, cities and municipalities. And while we know divestment will be difficult, 10 colleges, 22 cities, two counties, and dozens of foundations have already committed to divestment. This past week, Harvard, with the largest college endowment in the country, took a big step towards divestment by agreeing to sign on to a United Nations responsible investment code. Momentum is growing.
Investing in fossil fuels is investing in our planet’s destruction. The burning of just 20 percent of known reserves would lead to irreversible warming. When it comes to extraction, irresponsibility and negligence on the part of fossil fuel companies is the norm, not the exception, as demonstrated by countless oil spills and poisoned water supplies. Fossil fuel companies use their profits to buy political power and undermine scientific research on climate change. The people most harmed by the fossil fuel industry are those least capable of speaking out against it. This is a matter of justice.
We praise your past commitment to justice and to the common good, which you have shown in making financial aid a top priority of the College. We share your belief that access to an affordable college education is a pressing moral issue. Endowments exist for long term purposes and therefore require that we consider longer timescales.
An investment in the fossil fuel industry is a bet that the world will do nothing to prevent climate change. By divesting, the College will protect financial aid from the bursting of the carbon bubble while pressuring the industry to phase out fossil fuels in favor of clean energy.
But one fight for justice should not hinder another: we reject any divestment that comes at the cost of financial aid. This is not either-or. We believe the College can align its mission with its endowment by divesting, while continuing to offer strong financial aid—especially given the five-year timeline, which allows ample opportunity to divest prudently.
Divestment would take away the fossil fuel industry’s social license to operate business as usual. It is a powerful gesture, and has proven effective in the past. We support divestment in the hopes that Bowdoin will make us proud by institutionally recognizing climate change as a moral issue. We hope you can meet us to accept the petitions. If you are not available then, we request that a vice president or trustee accept our petition.
We hope, further, that the support we’ve gathered demonstrates that divestment is an issue worthy of the Board of Trustees. We ask your permission to present our case for divestment to the Board on behalf of our 1,000 signatories.