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WAYS FORWARD
Divestment across the country UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (UBC)
In collaboration with student journalists around the country, we compared university divestment policies from Vancouver to Montréal. For an in-depth comparison, visit ubyssey.ca. Illustration by Alex Vanderput
UBC has one of the largest endowments among universities in Canada at $1.71 billion, and it is estimated to have the most invested in fossil fuels: over $120 million. Following a steady stream of protests from student groups like UBCC350 and Extinction Rebellion UBC, and half-measures from the university, UBC’s Board of Governors authorized a plan to divest 22 per cent of its Main Endowment Pool in December 2019. Why such a specific number? The remaining 78 per cent is made up of charitable donations that are bound by specific donor agreements and the university has received legal opinions that investing the money for political reasons could be illegal. That same month, the Board also declared a climate emergency and committed to exploring full divestiture, though it provided no concrete timeline for doing so.
Among the U of A administration, there has been little to no conversation about fossil fuel divestment at the administrative or student government level. While the U of A has made a commitment to consider “environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities” in its investments, their endowment fund lacks a dedicated green portfolio. According to a 2019 annual report, the U of A’s Investment Committee made one investment based on environmental considerations by investing in Bakkafrost, a salmon producer, but the report did not mention any consideration of divestment from fossil fuels.
In 2013, environmental activism group UofT350 started calling on the university to divest an estimated $32.1 million in fossil fuel its endowment, which now sits at $2.59 billion. S after, U of T President Meric Gertler appointed a Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels in M 2014. The committee released its long-awaited repor December 2015, recommending that U of T dive all companies that “engage in egregious behaviou contribute inordinately to social injury.” But disa soon followed when Gertler announced in 2016 would be rejecting the committee’s recommenda instead supporting a “firm-by-firm” approach. Since then, the issue had largely been forgotte Global Climate Strike brought divestment to the in 2019 and reinvigorated student activism.
Henry Anderson, The Ubyssey
Andrew McWhinney, Tina Tai and Adam Lachacz, The Gateway
Josie Kao, The Varsity
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA (U OF A) UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (U OF T)
