UBC governors urged to sell school’s fossil-fuel holdings

An environmental coalition made up of students, faculty and staff is urging the University of B.C.’s board of governors to become a national leader in the fight against climate change.

The UBC board is set to make the final decision Monday on whether to sell off the school’s fossil-fuel holdings as part of its $1.4-billion endowment fund. The board’s finance committee recommended earlier this month that UBC not sell its fossil-fuel holdings.

Divest UBC spokesman Alex Hemingway is calling on the university to launch a new, more open and transparent process for considering divestment that involves not only the administration, but also students, faculty and alumni.

“UBC actually has an incredible opportunity here to set itself on a path of being a real leader in sustainability and good governance,” Hemingway said.

“We need a more serious and evidence-based process that not only has different relevant experts sitting on the committee itself, but also is open to consultations and submissions from stakeholders around the university.”

Investments tied to oil, gas and coal companies make up about 10 per cent of the university’s endowment.

In 2014, UBC students voted 77 per cent in support of divestment. Faculty voted similarly the following January, 62 per cent in favour of selling off the school’s fossil-fuel holdings within five years.

In the wake of the student vote, UBC created a responsible investment policy that set out five conditions to meet before it would consider divestment from any industry. That includes providing evidence that the school’s financial interests wouldn’t be harmed.

Concordia University in Montreal became the first Canadian university to adopt a partial divestment policy in December 2014, though that measure only applies to a $5-million fund — a fraction of the school’s $130-million endowment.

The University of Calgary, McGill University in Montreal and Dalhousie University in Halifax have all decided against divestment.

“It’s true that in Canada we haven’t seen a major university emerge as a real leader on divestment,” Hemingway said.

Student groups have started fossilfuel divestment campaigns at more than two dozen Canadian schools and more than 200 in the U.S.

Late last year, an advisory committee at the University of Toronto recommended the school divest from fossil-fuel companies that “blatantly disregard” efforts to combat climate change. University president Meric Gertler is expected to make a final decision before April.