Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
Our Daily Planet is a daily morning email (M-F) to keep you informed of the stories shaping our environment. If these issues matter to you, we’d like to be the best ten minutes of your morning.
Cornell University’s Board of Trustees announced on Friday that the University will make no new investments in fossil fuels, and it is believed that they have been divesting of their previous investments for several years, though the details of their endowment are not public. This follows on the announcement last week that the University of California system had completed its divestment from fossil fuels, becoming the largest in the country do so. Cornell’s decision increases the pressure on Harvard and Yale, both of which have young alumni running for spots on their boards of trustees for the explicit purpose of forcing both the divest.
Why This Matters: The climate movement has been led by young people and one easy focus of their activism is the universities they attend. At universities like Georgetown and Cornell, well-organized student organizations, supported by faculty, had been demanding divestment for years. Cornell seems to have been off-loading its fossil fuel investments for several years, but only this week made the formal decision to forego future investments. The Trustees cited a “growing recognition” that fossil fuels are out of favor rather than student pressure. The students there are not satisfied and are demanding a total divestment from even index funds that hold fossil fuel stocks.
UC System Is Divested
It took five years for the University of California system to divest — it sold more than $1 billion in fossil fuel assets from its $126 billion in pension, endowment and working capital pools and invested $1 billion in clean energy projects, the University said in a statement. “Today’s announcements on our investment strategy underscore our hopeful view of the future,” Richard Sherman, chair of the UC Board of Regents’ investments committee, said in a statement. “As long-term investors, we believe the university and its stakeholders are much better served by investing in promising opportunities in the alternative energy field rather than gambling on oil and gas.”
The Ivy League
Yale Forward jumped on the Cornell announcement, noting a shifting tide in favor of energy investments that don’t endanger the futures of the students. “The world can see which way the wind is blowing, and it’s time for Yale to lead the way forward and become a leader in the fight against climate change,” said Yale Forward co-founder Scott Gigante in a statement. “Yale Forward’s platform, promoted by candidate Maggie Thomas, does just that by divesting from fossil fuels and making the Yale Corporation more representative and democratic.” Maggie Thomas is a former climate policy advisor to presidential candidates Governor Jay Inslee and Senator Elizabeth Warren is campaigning for the Yale Corporation Board, calling on the University to divest nearly $30 billion endowment from fossil fuels and moving Yale to a carbon-neutral campus as quickly as possible.
What You Can Do: If you are a Yale alum, sign the Yale Forward petition to put Maggie Thomas on the ballot for the Corporation Board to push for divestment.
“You can’t find a Utahn who doesn’t really care about clean air and clean water.” @RepJohnCurtis said his goal is to find ways “to make them feel more comfortable [politically] talking about it.” @LeeDavi49903322 #climate https://t.co/jVpPBJq0GE — CCL Salt Lake City (@CCLsaltlake) February 19, 2021 By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer Representative John Curtis of […]
Climate change is the biggest threat facing the world, and yesterday’s United Nations Security Council meeting was focused on the topic. United States climate envoy John Kerry, who participated in the virtual meeting, warned that ignoring the crisis and its threats to global security would mean “marching forward to what is almost tantamount to a mutual suicide pact.”
Why this Matters: Global food security, poverty rates, and public health are all negatively impacted by climate change. These destabilizing forces are already driving people to migrate and shifting power balances on the international stage.
On Friday, the U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change. Just under one month into his term, President Biden has officially reversed one major element of Trump’s intended legacy, and climate officials across the globe are welcoming our nation back with open arms.
Why This Matters: The last four years proved to be a disaster for the climate.
Subscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
Want the lastest climate news summarized for you each morning?
Our Daily Planet is your daily dose of the stories shaping our world and the ways that you can take action. From the climate crisis to the protection of biodiversity, if these issues matter to you then please subscribe & stay informed!
Your privacy is Important! We promise never to use your email address to send you spam or advertisements.