MJ confident in its goals after divestment victories across country

September 11, 2014

2014 has been a crucial year for the fossil fuel divestment movement. In April, Blackrock, the world’s biggest fund manager, created a fossil-free fund for its investors and placing divestment in the financial mainstream. In May, Stanford University divested its $18.7 billion endowment from coal — the largest in history. Over the summer, the movement took hold in Norway and within the World Council of Churches. South African activist Desmond Tutu, Chief of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Chrstiana Figueres ’79, World Bank Chief Jim Yong Kim and former Irish President Mary Robinson joined the now hundreds of prominent figures that have come out in support of divestment. On September 21, divestment will see the biggest mobilizing event in the history of the movement: New York’s People’s Climate March.

In the early fall of 2011, however, the movement’s  influence stretched just between the walls of Kohlberg. Swarthmore’s Mountain Justice (MJ) designed and developed the divestment movement, which now has thousands of powerful advocates across the country and the world.

MJ’s plans for this academic year are many, according to member Sara Blazevic ’15. The next few weeks will be focused on recruitment, both for new members and the march. Following September 21, there will be trainings and meetings for students to become more informed on the movement and the ways in which they can become allies.

Sample advertisement

“The economics and politics of fossil fuel divestment have totally changed in the past year,” said member Guido Girgenti ’15. “Just in 2014, tens of billions of dollars have already been divested by universities, religious institutions and major foundations.”

Both Blazevic and Girgenti point to Blackrock’s creation of a fossil fuel free fund as a critical point in proving the viability of this movement to create real change in the fight for sustainability.

“[The Blackrock victory] proves that finance and the business community will respond to the demands of a social movement,” Girgenti said. “There’s vanishingly little excuse to not have divested when the largest asset manager is offering its clients that very option.”

This international momentum comes at a time of change in Swarthmore leadership. Interim President Constance Hungerford sent an email titled “Getting to work” on her first official day in office, inviting students to “dream big, but concretely, about how Swarthmore can create change, how we can be better stewards of the earth, and how we can encourage others to do the same.”

Blazevic doesn’t see a future in which being “better stewards of the earth” doesn’t involve divestment.

“I think if Swarthmore College wishes to maintain its status as a prestigious and socially responsible institution of higher learning in this country, it will be increasingly difficult for them to maintain their investments in fossil fuel extraction,” she said.

Girgenti agrees.

“If I were an administrator, I would be racing to be the one who divests the institution from fossil fuels and make that my legacy as a leader,” he said. “Because there is no doubt that ten years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, fossil fuel divestment will be seen as the first of many shifts in our society that we took to avert climate catastrophe.”

1 Comment Leave a Reply

  1. Hello,

    I’m a big fan of the leadership Mountain Justice has shown in fighting for fossil fuel divestment. But please be aware that contrary to this post Blackrock has not created a fossil free fund — it has merely developed a fossil free index (upon which a mutual fund or ETE could be based, but to date has not).

    At the risk of stating the obvious, there are many ways in which one can invest fossil free. But I think the Blackrock announcement has been the subject of considerable misunderstanding, and I’m sure that you don’t want to be adding to the confusion.

    Good luck in the coming school year getting the Swarthmore administration to show some real leadership (like Pitzer College) or at least a reasonable amount of guile (like Stanford U.)!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

An opportunity for change

Next Story

Students clash with Off-Campus Study Office over study abroad credit

Latest from News

Swarthmore Leaders React as SEPTA Announces Severe Cuts

On April 10, the South-Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) announced widespread service cuts and fare increases for the 2026 fiscal year. The cuts, which total a 45% reduction of service, are the culmination of several years of long-term deficits that have only

Resident Peer Leader Hiring Cycle Sees Surge in Applications

As the spring semester comes to a close, many students and administrators are well into preparations for the 2025-2026 school year. The housing lottery has finished, students have completed pre-registration for classes, and many open campus jobs, including Resident Peer Leaders (RPLs),

Dr. Wade Manora Jr. Takes on IC Role

In January 2024, the Intercultural Center (IC) announced a change in leadership for the first time since 2019. Dr. Wade Manora Jr. is the new Assistant Dean and Director of the IC, succeeding Dr. Imaani El-Burki in the role. Manora was the
Previous Story

An opportunity for change

Next Story

Students clash with Off-Campus Study Office over study abroad credit

The Phoenix

Don't Miss