As we believe the global divestment from fossil fuels movement is essential in terms of activist efforts towards obtaining social and environmental justice, we have included some information about it here. Currently, the University of Calgary has not been involved with the divestment movement, and hence we encourage social work students and faculty, and local social workers to join in the creation of this movement on and off campus within Calgary and across all of Canada.

"If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage:" This is the principle behind the divestment movement, which has gained momentum in the United States, Canada, and internationally since its inception in Fall 2012 (see gofossilfree.org). Initiated by Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, this grassroots divestment movement calls upon higher education institutions, churches, cities, non-profit organizations, and individuals to divest their holdings from the top 200 most polluting fossil fuel companies”

• Source: The Sustainability and Education Policy Network, 2016, The state of fossil fuel divestment in Canadian post-secondary institutions. Retrieved from http://sepn.ca/research_results/research-brief-state-fossil-fuel-divestment-canadian-post-secondary-institutions/

“There are currently over 400 divestment campaigns at campuses worldwide. 40 educational institutions have already chosen to move their endowments away from coal, oil and gas companies because they recognise fossil fuels carry ethical and financial risks. As more universities see the writing on the wall for fossil fuels, this number is only set to grow…Divestment is an incredible opportunity for institutions to show thought leadership and drive the transition away from polluting fossil fuels. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and we need to take serious action to ensure dangerous warming does not occur. Students have shown that they want their universities to stand up and tackle climate change head on, and it’s time they respond by taking their money out of the dirty fossil fuel sector and move it to the clean, renewable energy industries of the future.”

• Source: Fossil Free, 2015, Get with the times, divest. Retrieved from http://gofossilfree.org/get-with-the-times-divest/

“When individuals or large organizations, such as universities, invest money in oil, gas or coal companies, they’re supporting our society’s reliance on fossil fuels and keeping green energy options on the sidelines. Or so goes the theory that is driving the relatively new, but fast-moving, student-initiated divestment movement in Canada. This latest divestment movement got its start in Canada when Bill McKibben, a renowned U.S. environmentalist, gave a keynote speech on the topic at PowerShift, an activists’ ‘meet-up’ in Ottawa in October 2012.

His words inspired a group of students from McGill University to draft a petition urging the university to redirect money from the portion of its almost $1-billion endowment that is invested in fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition launched its Fossil Free Canada campaign in January 2013, calling on individuals and institutions to divest…Today, student-led fossil-fuel divestment groups are active at 40 Canadian universities and about 300 across North America. The movement began in the United States, where 11 colleges and universities have announced plans to divest. There has been one arrest affiliated with the movement, at Harvard University, which hasn’t agreed to divest. The idea is taking hold in Europe, too, and cities, religious institutions and banks are discussing divestment worldwide.”

• Source: University Affairs, 2014, Activists want universities to stop investing in fossil fuels. Retrieved from http://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/activists-want-universities-to-stop-investing-in-fossil-fuels/