Students are advocating for change, now McMaster needs to listen to them
C/O Lewis Parsons on Unsplash
By: Alexandria Peacock, Contributor
This past Friday over 175 students participated in the McMaster Climate Strike. The goal of the strike, aside from raising awareness about climate change, was to push for divestment here at McMaster University. McMaster currently invests about $22 million into fossil fuel companies, which are the leading greenhouse gas emitters.
On March 4, McMaster President David Farrar released a statement asking the Board of Governors to create a concrete plan for divestment within a specified timeline. This demand for a clear timeline and action plan for divestment was the primary goal of the McMaster Climate Strike. The strike was endorsed by several faculty societies and the McMaster Students Union which represents over 20,000 undergraduate students.
The demand for change is clear. We are well aware that climate change is the biggest threat of the 21st century and that action needs to be taken now and not in some vague future. If this strike has shown us anything, it is that the students are prepared to fight for change. So why has it taken this long for the university to commit?
If this strike has shown us anything, it is that the students are prepared to fight for change. So why has it taken this long for the university to commit?
According to a representative from Mac Climate Advocates, one of the many clubs here at McMaster which seeks to raise awareness about climate change, the Board of Governors has yet to respond to the strike. It may have only been a week since the strike, but the issue of divestment is not new. In fact, discussions concerning McMaster’s investments in the fossil fuel industry have been ongoing for the past five years.
Although the Board has recognized the need for divestment, they have yet to commit to any concrete plans on how this is to be achieved. It’s disheartening to see that our school, which is supposed to empower students to speak up and foster an environment in which we feel that our voices are heard, has chosen to ignore our demand for change.
McMaster claims to be committed to creating a “brighter world” and it is evident that the students of this school are more than capable of carrying out this legacy. But while we have the power to demand change, it is those who run this institution that are in the position to actually do something about it.
McMaster claims to be committed to creating a “brighter world” and it is evident that the students of this school are more than capable of carrying out this legacy. But while we have the power to demand change, it is those who run this institution that are in the position to actually do something about it.
I am proud to be part of a community of impassioned students capable of inspiring so many others. Last week’s strike is only one of many strides made by students here at Mac to combat climate change.
The fight for divestment did not begin nor does it end with this strike. According to a representative from Mac Climate Advocates, the McMaster Climate Strike team will continue to raise awareness about this issue and put pressure on the administration until they commit to a legitimate and achievable plan for divestment.
As cliché as it may sound, we are the future and I am glad to know that our future will be led by dedicated and passionate students that continue to fight for a better world. I can only hope that the Board would agree with me.
An introduction to the divestment movement at McMaster, even if you’ve never heard the word “divest” before. No tutorials required.
By: Natalie Palumbo, Nicole Graziano, Mymoon Bhuiyan and Adeola Egbeyemi, Contributors
This article is written by members of McMaster Divest.
Instructor: OPIRG Group McMaster Divest
Email: [email protected]
Lecture: One-time reading
History of MacDivest
Welcome to the Winter 2021 one-reading course: DIVEST 1A03! In the context of higher education, fossil fuel divestment involves universities removing their investments in stocks, bonds and other forms of invested funds from the fossil fuel industry. Like many universities, McMaster University currently invests in fossil fuel companies.
At McMaster, the divestment movement traces back to 2013 when OPIRG project Fossil-Free McMaster began to advocate for divestment from fossil fuel companies. Although the efforts of students and faculty of Fossil-Free McMaster led to McMaster creating a committee to evaluate the possibility of divestment of endowment funds, ultimately no further action was taken.
Divestment Evaluation - Details
Moral Reasons
The use and production of fossil fuels are directly tied to climate change. It is a fact that as fossil fuels are mined, carbon emissions enter the atmosphere and raise the global average temperature, causing a host of problems and exacerbating others.
It’s no secret that fossil fuel companies have been repeatedly linked to human rights abuses and have shown that profits trump human rights, notably on Canadian soil. This is particularly concerning when we consider the effects of fossil fuels on Indigenous populations within Canada, such as oil spills and discharges.
Consider this: How can McMaster honour the promises made in their land acknowledgements if their investments support companies that build pipelines across Indigenous lands, threatening the livelihood and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples?
How can McMaster honour the promises made in their land acknowledgements if their investments support companies that build pipelines across Indigenous lands, threatening the livelihood and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples?
We know we sound like huge tree huggers, but hear us out — as students, it is also discouraging to know that our tuition supports an institution that’s invested in the slow roast of the planet by way of fossil fuel companies.
Leadership Reasons
“As a global university, we must recognize the important role we play through all of our sustainability efforts, which include responsible investments,” said McMaster president, David Farrar in 2020.
All universities will likely end up divesting, it is simply a matter of when. How embarrassing is it that in the middle of a climate crisis, McMaster wants to watch and see how divestment impacts other universities first?
This contradicts the idea that McMaster plays a global leadership role, as they are riding on the coattails of global institutions, as well as smaller Canadian universities that have shown real leadership. McMaster prides itself on its achievements, its sustainability efforts included. It would be a hollow victory if McMaster announced its divestment plan after watching other universities divest and assessing their processes.
Divestment Misconceptions
Misconception 1:
“But when we divest from these companies, we lose our seat at the table as shareholders, we can no longer engage and advocate for them to be more sustainable!”
Sustainability is avoiding the depletion of natural resources to maintain Earth’s ecology. There is no amount of advocacy that can make a company, whose goal is the antithesis of this (i.e. mining natural resources), environmentally friendly. Even if we could, the activism coming from McMaster’s tiny investment could not change a company’s mind anyway.
Misconception 2:
“If our investment is so tiny, then what is the point? You won’t make a difference with divestment, so why bother?”
McMaster’s investment is small in terms of financial capital, yes, but is massive in terms of social capital. Divestment looks to devalue social capital by sending a message that investing in fossil fuels is not okay. In addition, divestment is becoming an increasingly sound investment decision to make, no matter how small. Fossil fuels seem to be an industry in decline, seeing increasing amounts of trouble regularly.
Misconception 3:
“Oh, that’s real nice. You want McMaster to divest from fossil fuel companies, while the whole campus uses fossil fuels to run! Very hypocritical for the consumers to divest from the suppliers.”
First of all, if McMaster wanted to research, plan and conduct a smooth, equitable transition to a fossil-free campus, we would be all for it! But McMaster obviously isn’t a top world research university, so that’s silly talk. Divestment isn’t mutually exclusive from going fossil-free, we’re just a part of the worldwide movement for this particular systematic change.
Misconception 4:
“I know investment funds and tuition money are two separate pools of funding. But it’s still university money that should be diversified for a balanced portfolio.”
We agree! Loss of diversification is not good. That’s why there are companies in the energy sector that can be invested in that do not emit carbon dioxide! In fact, MacGreenInvest is a group of McMaster faculty that has been working since 2015 for reinvestment of these divested funds into sustainable initiatives.
The benefits of divestment are that McMaster can begin to actively, mindfully and genuinely invest in green companies and start-ups, forming a reciprocal relationship with the technology and energy sources we want to see thrive in the future.
We know we haven’t answered all the misconceptions about divestment at McMaster. There are still well-placed concerns about the complexities of removing pooled funding and monitoring progress year-by-year. But once you start thinking about the complexities of how to divest, you’ve already agreed then that divestment is necessary.
Next Steps
Hopefully you, the reader, are now on board with the fossil fuel divestment movement. You’ve aced the exam and secured that 12! Now what?
You can keep up with MacDivest work to move McMaster away from unsustainable investments on Instagram and Facebook. You can sign this petition calling on McMaster to take divestment action. You can even simply spread awareness with your friends and community by, for instance, sharing this article.
As individuals, it would be difficult to convince McMaster to divest. However, as a collective group, in the McMaster community and worldwide, working towards an actual brighter world is possible.
[spacer height="20px"]Amidst the overwhelming amount of scientific evidence in support of climate change, it would be virtually impossible to argue otherwise. Human influence, at least to some extent, has undoubtedly contributed towards global temperature increases and the rise of extreme weather events. But quitting meat and reducing my shower time isn’t going to change anything.
You should care about climate change; it’ll likely affect you or has already affected you in some capacity. It would be immoral, however, to place the guilt and responsibility of rectifying climate change on individual actions.
According to the 2017 Carbon Majors Report, 71 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be attributed towards just 100 companies. Of those 100 companies, a mere 25 contribute to over half the total industrial-based emissions. It makes sense then to focus on changing these companies’ ways rather than target individual consumers.
Initiatives for consumers to “go-green” have not always been accessible nor even effective. Take, for instance, the proposed controversial plastic straw ban. While well-intentioned, straws only account for four per cent of all plastic waste, and advocates in favour of straws often emphasize their importance for those with disabilities. While any reduction in plastic waste is important, we must critically evaluate such “green” initiatives to determine just how much positive change they generate.
Rather than imploring consumers to make changes in their lifestyles, most of which will not impart serious, significant changes towards the climate, efforts should be placed on forcing companies to change their ways. The 25 major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions are largely oil and fossil fuel companies. Climate change initiatives thus should focus on changing, or even eliminating, this harmful industry.
If students have any responsibility, it would be to advocate for the reduction of fossil fuels, help further the development of clean, sustainable alternatives and hold corporations accountable for their emissions. It is your prerogative to participate in initiatives that reduce your carbon footprint but know that the actions of the individual can only go so far. Climate change is too large and too severe an issue to be mitigated solely by personal solutions.
These individual choices can only regain importance once we live in a society where undergoing the environmentally-friendly action is economically viable and accessible for all. There’s no doubt that solar panels are an effective alternative source of energy, but substantial benefits are not observed until a community of houses use solar energy rather than the few who can afford it. Students especially are often not in financially-available positions where they can afford to choose the most “environmentally-friendly” options.
It would be ignorant to shift the blame for climate change then on the working class. Instead, we must collectively work against corporate and governmental power to invoke meaningful systematic change that can then allow for individual responsibility to take precedence.
So, by all means, care about climate change. It’s important that we keep talking about these issues as without discussion, there can be no change. But there’s only so much that we as students can be expected to do. At the end of the day, the burden to reduce our carbon emissions to the levels required to save us all rests on the shoulders of those who made the mess.
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Madeline Lawler
The Silhouette
The other day, I was daydreaming and pondering the state of the world and the future outcome of its people, as one is wont to do. I asked myself, “How have we lived on a planet for so long and provided it with the burden of the industrial revolution?” We have acted harmoniously with the world prior to this time period, only taking what we needed. Now the Earth just seems to accept our toxic behaviour without kicking us off the planet. Or has it clued in and begun to retaliate?
One of the main activities we partake in as a species, which causes so much destruction, is pumping out oil and gas as if there is no tomorrow. The federal government has created the narrative that in order for the Canadian economy to thrive, we need to continue to produce these polluting by-products. Yet, there seems to be a catch for the acts behind their smoke and mirrors.
A major impact of burning fossil fuels is climate change, which affects each and every one of us, no matter what social class we exhibit. This is an issue which is happening not in future, but as of right now. I don’t think people fully understand the ramifications of this problem. They simply believe that science and technology will create a solution for us to continue to live the way we do. However, with seven billion people on this planet, our current lifestyle is a major part of the destruction at hand. Without addressing this, we are left with band-aid solutions.
Some climate scientists say that the global temperature can rise up to a maximum of two degrees Celsius before catastrophic climate change effects occur. This temperature limit is equivalent to keeping our carbon emitting activity to the maximum of 565 gigatons (565,000,000,000 tons) of carbon. Fossil fuel companies have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves and are ready to just burn them for profit. This number is five times higher than the previously mentioned maximum.
As we have continued to burn fossil fuels, impacts have become immediate. In July 2006, the major heat wave in North America resulted in 140 deaths, including some with working air conditioners. During 2011 and 2012, major weather events, including storms, floods and fires, have cost up to $188 billion in damages. These are just two of the major events that have occurred largely as a result of the lifestyle habits from first world countries. Our lifestyle practices are considered as necessities when they are actually luxuries and conveniences we have gotten used to. With our society structured around fossil fuels – a risky and expensive way for us to live the high life – events like the examples above will become common place, making our world a potentially unliveable place for everyone. Our food and drinking water – the real necessities for us to live – will become scarce resources for our growing population.
As important as it is to strengthen our economy, it is essential to divert from an oil based economy that is a large cause of the destruction and devastation of our home. Institutions like McMaster have the fiduciary responsibility or the requirement to care for the assets and rights of its students. This duty gives students opportunities to begin a career and life for themselves. What trumps this duty is the moral responsibility that institutions have for our future, as well as future generations and our planet, which gives us the ability to live. Before the impacts of climate change worsen exponentially, it is necessary for us to make the economic shift away from investing in fossil fuels.
McMaster needs to divest from fossil fuels. Why not be ahead of the game and declare right now that it is unacceptable to be investing in such an irresponsible industry with no long term future?
