theQuestion: Should universities be forced to divest from fossil fuel investments?*
I don’t own a car. My primary mode of transportation is my two feet. Together with my legs and powered by a well-balanced diet I get everywhere I need to go, at least in downtown Vancouver that is. During the warmer and drier months of the year you will find me on my bike zipping along the seawall and the Vision-installed bike lanes, which I love — who would have thought?
When I do need a speedier form of transportation, or to travel greater distances, I take public transit. I cherish the SkyTrain and the bus serves me well on my summer pilgrimages to Wreck Beach — another surprise for readers.
Recently, I invested in my first home. When I went condo hunting, I was faced with a choice — parking space or no parking space? The decision would impact resale value and limit flexibility. For me, the decision was easy, no parking space. Essentially, I have invested in a property that guarantees my future shall not include a car.
Investment decisions matter. Every individual has a right to decide where to direct their personal investments. Where the line must be drawn is in the public sphere.
In the relentless, misguided battle against fossil fuels, student activists at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia are waging a campaign to force the schools to divest endowment funds of oil and gas investments. This means stop all new investments and liquidate currently-held positions. I understand these students believe there is an ethical and moral imperative to do so.
However, why should their beliefs on what is an ethical and moral investment infringe on those of others?
Investments of this scale should not be subject to any one group’s moral and ethical whims. These are public institutions, with hundred of millions of dollars to invest. According to UBC350, the group organizing the UBC campaign, $120 million of the $1.2-billion endowment fund is directly invested in oil and gas companies. Liquidating these investments could dramatically impact the endowment’s ability to grow the fund.
University endowments support student bursaries and scholarships, research and academic appointments, libraries and other services. If a fund is forced to limit its investment portfolio, then these areas will suffer.
Students are indeed investors in the university via paying costly tuition — tuition which could increase if endowment funds become crippled by lack of investment options.