Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
On February 2, five members of Mountain Justice will meet with five members of the Swarthmore Board of Managers to present their Fossil Fuel Divestment Proposal, which was made in consultation with the Swarthmore College Investments and Finance Office. The Board agreed to this meeting following the delivery of a petition signed by over 800 students, 300 alumni and 56 faculty members.
In the proposal, Mountain Justice outlines the immediacy of reducing carbon emissions, citing data from the recent UN Climate Change Report. Mountain Justice writes, “We call on the Swarthmore Board of Managers to immediately begin a process that will achieve a fossil fuel free endowment by 2020, the same year that global carbon emissions must peak if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.” Mountain Justice also offers a timeline leading up to December 31, 2020 of strategies for the college to transition each of the college’s 70 accounts to investments without fossil fuel.
Read Mountain Justice’s full proposal for the February 2nd Board of Managers meeting here.
Featured image courtesy of Mountain Justice.
