The science says so
According to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if we are to remain within safe levels of global warming, we must limit the global temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This means that 80% of known reserves must stay in the ground. Continued investment in fossil fuels therefore goes against scientific consensus on climate change.
The international community says so
The IPCC has been endorsed by all parties to the UN. Durham University’s investment in fossil fuels therefore lags behind international political consensus.
Durham is a top scientific institution which should be leading the way
Universities are supposed to be at the heart of learning and progress. Durham is no exception to this. We are a prestigious institution whose research puts us at the forefront of scientific discovery. Yet this is contradicted by our investment policy. We ought to be putting our knowledge into practice by funding existing renewable energies and the development of pioneering clean technologies. Instead we are invested in companies whose business plan leads inevitably to climate change.
Investment in fossil fuels is morally wrong
As a respected institution, Durham University has a moral duty to ban investments in fossil fuels. Firstly, we must think about the effects of climate change on our own futures and those of unborn generations. If the world exceeds its 2 degree limit, we are in danger of activating feedback loops which will send the climate out of our control and into chaos. More pressing, though, are the impacts that climate change is already having across the world. In recent years, climate change may have contributed to natural disasters in many countries, for example recurrent typhoons in the Philippines. Many countries in tropical areas have become extremely vulnerable due changing sea levels, with the island nation of Tuvalu set to be the first to go under water. Less developed countries are also suffering from decreased agricultural production and higher occurrences of drought that results from oil production. The greatest injustice of all this lies in the fact that it is the world’s poorest countries being most impacted. Not only are they the least able to adapt to the effects of climate change, they also bear the least responsibility for said effect. It is industrialised nations who have polluted the atmosphere and so we must now enact positive change to help those countries stricken by climate change.
Fossil fuel companies are morally bankrupt
It is also important to consider the moral bankruptcy of the fossil fuel companies that Durham University is invested in. Much as companies like Exxon, Mobil and Shell claim that their work helps to eradicate poverty, it tends to have negative impacts on development. The resource curse means that oil-rich nations rarely benefit from their associations with fossil fuel giants but instead suffer exploitation. For example, oil production by Shell in the Ogoniland area of the Niger-Delta has contaminated the drinking water of more than 10 communities, but Shell has failed to take effective action to restore the environment there. Durham University needs to implement an ethical investment policy which ends its association with corrupt corporations.
Investment in fossil fuels causes health risks
In a similar vein, by investing in fossil fuel companies Durham University encourages health risks caused by air pollution. The WHO estimates that 7 million deaths annually (one in eight of total global deaths) are as a result of air pollution exposure. In particular, this data reveals a stronger link between air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory disease. Divesting the university from fossil fuel companies would make an effort towards creating a healthier environment with cleaner air and less pollution. The university already has a policy which prevents investments in tobacco. It seems strange that we don’t therefore have a similar policy on fossil fuels, which also constitute a huge and recognised health risk.
Divestment makes economic sense
Investment in fossil fuels is becoming economically unfeasible. Though 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must stay below the ground, the value of fossil fuel companies is based on the assumption that these reserves will be consumed in their entirety. This leads to an overvaluation of their assets, resulting in a dangerous carbon bubble which will inevitably burst due to the global commitment to remain within the stated 2°C rise. Durham University’s investment in fossil fuels is therefore economically unsustainable.