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University follows through on commitment to divest

September 27, 2015


On Wednesday Sept. 23, the Georgetown administration announced that the university officially followed through on its commitment to divest its endowment from all direct holdings in companies which extract coal for energy as their principal business.

This announcement comes a full three and half months after June 4, when Georgetown’s Board of Directors passed a resolution stating that, “The university will not make or continue any direct investments of endowment funds in companies whose principal business is mining coal for use in energy production.”

According to Georgetown University Fossil Free Member Caroline James (COL ‘16), after campaigning since Jan. 2013, the decision seemed like a minor commitment for the university to make. She said that the decision “felt like we were just being handed something in order to appease us.”

“[The university] themselves in their statement to us said that is an insubstantial part of the endowment,” said James. GUFF will continue to push for the university to divest from all fossil fuels and expects this decision to give them leverage. “Saying that coal is bad but not oil or gas is an argument that doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said James.

James said that GUFF’s second strategy will be building and measuring student support. She explained that the February GUSA Ballot will  contain a referendum on whether students support the divestment of the endowment from fossil fuels. “Sometimes we fear that [the university] think[s] this is just a niche group of students who are really concerned about this; climate change is something that affects all of us.”

The university’s announcement also coincides with Pope Francis’ visit to Washington and his acknowledgment of climate change while speaking at the White House. “It seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem [that] can no longer be left to a future generation,” he said. GUFF hopes to use Pope Francis’s comments on climate change to its advantage. James said, “Georgetown is always calling on its roots as a Jesuit and Catholic University and one where social justice of the utmost importance in order to justify anything they do and so it doesn’t make sense that we call on that mission for many things but then decide to ignore it when it comes to ecological responsibility.”

The university has said that they will continue giving the issue their thought and time. In their recent update, the university announced that, “We are engaging a range of colleagues from Board members to administrators to faculty to determine the best approach for the new Board committee on socially responsible investing.” In addition, two workshops on sustainability, led by President DeGioia and other university leaders will contribute to the next phase of the university’s sustainability plan.

GUFF Member Grady Willard (SFS ‘18) hopes GUFF’s message will continue to push the university towards complete divestment from fossil fuels. “We, as a university just need to align our morals with our investments,” he said.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct duration of GUFF’s campaign.



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