Divest Dal: a student-led campaign and working group of the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG) urging Dalhousie University to divest its endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry.
We are:
A collective of Dalhousie Students, Alumni and concerned community members who are committed to environmental justice, transparency, and meaningful participation in the University’s decisionmaking process.
We are troubled by the relationship between Dalhousie University and the fossil fuel industry. This relationship is one of support for industries and projects that contribute directly to the destruction of land, environment, and communities, worldwide.
We acknowledge that the effects of environmental destruction and climate change are unequally distributed based on class, race, gender and other factors. We are committed to challenging this structure as well as challenging ourselves to confront power, privilege and oppression in our own organizing. This group is open to—and draws from—the diverse backgrounds present in the Dalhousie and greater Halifax community.
We believe:
It is wrong for an institution of higher education to profit from industries and projects that compromise future generations' opportunities to lead socially and environmentally healthy lives. Direct support for and investment in the fossil fuel industry is unacceptable.
We believe that we have a responsibility to act in positive ways to challenge these injustices. We know that the environmental problems of the world cannot be solved by individuals “opting out”, by living ethically or by offering charity. We stand committed to challenging our institutions and the systems to work towards environmental justice.
We recognize that environmental destruction and other forms of social injustice share a common root cause. Our struggle for Dalhousie’s divestment from the fossil fuel industry is therefore linked to struggles for justice more broadly. For this reason we call for environmental justice.
We will:
Work toward the divestment of all Dalhousie University holdings in industries and projects that extract, process, market, or explore for coal, petroleum or natural gas resources.
We will hold the administration accountable to its students and to the University’s goals of working towards a sustainable future. We will make this divestment goal a reality by fostering an active, informed community at Dalhousie to push for transparency and accountability for the University’s investments, policies and actions.
We will work towards the larger goal of environmental justice for all.
Sign our petition here: http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/divest-dalhousie-from-fossil-fuels
