海角大神

Three hundred professors from Stanford have called on the university to let go of all fossil fuel investments in the first major campus divestment movement to be led by faculty, The Guardian reports.

In a letter sent Sunday to Stanford鈥檚 president and board of trustees, the professors say that the university must rid itself of its fossil fuel stocks as part of its obligation to help curb climate change 鈥� and to practice what it preaches:

US college and university endowments have about 5 percent of their assets, or $22 billion, invested in energy and natural resources, including traditional fossil fuels, according to 2014 data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

So far, 18 colleges and universities around the world have divested from fossil fuels via student-led movements, according to climate advocacy group 350.org.聽More than 100 cities, religious groups, foundations, and other institutions have done the same.聽

Stanford joined that list in May 2014 when its board of trustees announced that the university would halt all investments in coal companies 鈥� though the California institution received some criticism months later, after it was revealed that its endowment bought shares in three oil and gas companies.

鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 run counter to Stanford鈥檚 commitment because they made it clear they would divest from coal,鈥� Jamie Henn, communications director of 350.org, told Bloomberg, 鈥渂ut it certainly isn鈥檛 in the spirit of the commitment they made.鈥�

While more than 400 schools聽across the US have active student-led divestment movements, how effective the strategy is in the struggle against climate change remains debated. Advocates echo the Stanford faculty members鈥� argument that institutions that manage endowment funds have a moral and ethical obligation to invest in socially responsible companies and funds.

Another argument highlights the value of 鈥渃hallenging the legitimacy of a business model that now threatens lives and livelihoods around the world,鈥� Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Fund, wrote in The Wall Street Journal. 鈥淸Divestment] is about moving money into things like energy efficiency, renewables and clean technology.鈥�

At Harvard University, where the value of its endowment rose to more than $36 billion in 2014 鈥� the largest of any university in the world 鈥� students went so far as to take the university to court.

Harvard鈥檚 position is similar to that of most divestment critics: Though effectively symbolic, the strategy has no real impact on the fossil fuel industry and could even undermine efforts against climate change: 聽

鈥淒ivestment is likely to have negligible financial impact on the affected companies. And such a strategy would diminish the influence or voice we might have with this industry,鈥� Drew Faust, Harvard鈥檚 president, said in an Oct. 3, 2013 letter to the university community. 鈥淒ivestment pits concerned citizens and institutions against companies that have enormous capacity and responsibility to promote progress toward a more sustainable future.鈥�