U of T divestment campaign

[Milan]

Nathalie pointed me toward this U of T group that is focused on the school's endowment: Investing in Integrity

We should probably try and arrange a meeting with them.

[thugsb]

Thanks Nathalie, that's fantastic! Milan, do you want to reach out to them (or delegate)?

I imagine this page will be useful: http://www.finance.utoronto.ca/Page793.aspx

No specific companies are mentioned in those PDFs, but there may be on the rest of the site. There's a lot of info to go through. Want to split it up somehow?

[Milan]

Splitting it up somehow would be most welcome, as I am frantically busy until next Monday.

Any volunteers?

[Milan]

One tweet about a school that did Apartheid investment earlier and is now making an effort with fossil fuels: https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/244166132314030080

[Tamara]

Here's a site with info about several university campus-based divestment campaigns http://divestforourfuture.org/about-3/

[Milan]

Miriam looked into whether Freedom of Information requests may be of use to us here:

I did some searching in regards to Freedom of Information in Canada.
It seems that you guys have a similar system to the UK. As far as I
can tell, the university comes under the Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, which you can read here -
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90f31_e.htm

To find out more about how to access information about the university
I recommend we go and talk to someone here:

Information & Privacy Officer
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 104
12 Queen's Park Crescent West
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8
Telephone: (416) 946-7303
Fax: (416) 978-6657
Website: www.fippa.utoronto.ca

Here is a request form:
http://www.fippa.utoronto.ca/Assets/FIPPA+Digital+Assets/FIPP+Office/fipp/request.pdf

For more information, this government website seems to outline it all
quite nicely: http://www.mgs.gov.on.ca/en/infoaccessandprivacy/STDU_101436.html?openNav=freedom_of_information_%28foi%29

It seems like a Freedom of Information request will be the route we
have to go down, although I do recommend that first we go to the
investment department (?) you mentioned and try simply asking for the
information.

[Milan]

Another reason to question the wisdom of investing in Shell:

Over the past two decades more than 150 lawsuits have been brought against American and foreign corporations accused of violating international law, including human-rights abuses, in more than 60 foreign countries. Most of them have been dismissed or settled out of court. Of the four that have gone to trial, only one resulted in victory for the victims. Yet multinationals increasingly live in fear of alien tort suits, as much because of the negative publicity as because of the high costs involved.

The present case, Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell), was brought against the Anglo-Dutch oil giant by 12 Nigerians, who accuse it of complicity in crimes against humanity, including extra-judicial killings and torture, carried out by the Nigerian dictatorship of General Sani Abacha in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta in the 1990s. In 2009 Shell agreed to pay $15.5m to the families, now living in America, of nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, an author and playwright, who were executed by the government in 1995 after violent protests over the construction of a pipeline in the Ogoni region.

Shell, which denies any wrongdoing, now argues that the Alien Tort Act should not apply to corporations, even American ones, and furthermore should not cover violations committed outside American jurisdiction. In 2010 a sharply divided 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Kiobel, agreeing that the law did not apply to companies. The issue of extraterritoriality was not raised until the first hearings, on appeal, before the Supreme Court in February this year. Then, as now, several justices sounded sceptical about the law’s purported universal reach.

http://www.economist.com/node/21564251

[Milan]

Good resources and links from the 350.org mothership:

Welcome!

Hi there, and thanks for your interest in kicking off a Fossil Fuel Divestment campaign on your campus. We’re in the first stages of putting this project together, so we don’t have a lot of resources available, but we wanted to put a few key pieces in one place so that you can kick things off. Stay tuned for an upcoming full-fledged Divestment in a Box toolkit that is forthcoming.

Here’s the Plan: We want College and University Presidents and Boards (as well as Religious and Pension funds) to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies, and divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.

200 publicly-traded companies hold the vast majority of the world’s proven coal, oil and gas reserves. Those are the companies we’re asking our institutions to divest from. Our demands to these companies are simple, because they reflect the stark truth of climate science:

1. They need immediately to stop exploring for new hydrocarbons.
2. They need to stop lobbying in Washington and state capitols across the country to preserve their special breaks.
3. Most importantly, they need to pledge to keep 80% of their current reserves underground forever.

As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, concerns, or just want to tell us we’re doing a good job, shoot us an email at div...@350.org. Onwards!

---

Key Reports and Articles

Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math - Bill McKibben (in Rolling Stone)

Unburnable Carbon - Carbon Tracker Initiative

Spreadsheets, Lists and Charts

List of top 200 Coal, Gas and Oil companies, by proven carbon reserves

List of US and Canadian University and College endowments

List of Ongoing Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaigns

Guides and Toolkits

Fossil Fuel Divestment Frequently Asked Questions (DRAFT)

Responsible Endowments Coalition Student Handbook

Energy Action Coalition Coal Divestment website

Links

Responsible Endowments Coalition

Sustainable Endowments Institute

https://docs.google.com/a/toronto350.org/document/d/1bKOcqvKo0CPtCtwXmQcHhY62riGLDJNPy3zVGA1UPJE/mobilebasic?pli=1

[Milan]

Mie's friend Jeannie sent some useful information on winning over a school's administration to the divestment case:

In terms of pitching it to the administration, our big focus has been on reputation and continuing to be a leader of environmental higher-ed.  Because 350 originated at my campus and we've pledged to go carbon neutral, we're trying to build on that legacy.  I don't know much about UT so I don't know how well that argument will work for you.

If they ask about returns, I'd have a few studies ready that say responsible investing does not necessarily cause lower returns, but ultimately we reiterate that they're the ones who are professionals in investment, and we don't want to pretend to know how to do their job. Clearly they're doing an excellent job already, so we think they would be the best ones to figure out how to make profit without supporting such destructive companies.

You can also try using the more ideological and values-driven arguments, the most powerful one being, I think, that we want a future in which we can use our college degrees.  McKibben's article in Rolling Stone is pretty useful, and also his "thought bubble" youtube (not an great medium for administrators, but it lays out the links between fossil fuel corporations and corrupt politics pretty well.)  It's a good video to show students.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSuzNSHPv6c

In terms of other contacts, I see you're in touch with Martin Bourqui already and that's great.  I'd recommend getting in on the Divestment conference call tonight--I've just forwarded you the info for that.  Also, Swarthmore has a great campaign going (they've been working on it for two years) http://swatmountainjustice.wordpress.com/.  They're website is really spot-on.  Also 350 just launched a site specifically for ff divestment: http://gofossilfree.org/.  And the Responsible Endowments Coalition, where Martin worked, is of course a terrific resource.  I just went to a conference they hosted this past weekend http://www.endowmentethics.org/.

People at REC and 350 could definitely put you in touch with students at other large, public Universities, which might be more helpful to you in terms of tactics than us little liberal arts colleges.  But I'm happy to keep in touch!  Certainly keep everyone up-to-date on your progress and challenges!  Also, have you settled on a specific "ask" yet?  A lot of schools are asking for an immediate freeze in fossil fuel investments, and divestment over the course of the next five years.  We're defining "fossil fuel companies" as any of the top 200 coal, oil and natural gas companies.

[Milan]

More cause to take special issue with Shell:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Alberta+First+Nation+wants+stop+Shell+Canada+Jackpine/7429511/story.html

http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/23/athabasca-chipewyan-first-nation-challenge-shell-legal-hearing

[Milan]

The student group Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) is running a campaign encouraging U of T and York to divest from companies they see as complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights.

They have a petition that has been signed by over 100 faculty members. More information is on their website at:

http://toronto.saia.ca/

Sakura Saunders - one of the media facilitators from the recent Line 9 conference - told me that that SAIA has approached the York and U of T student unions to ask what kind of student support would be necessary for the union to endorse the campaign. For instance, a certain percentage of students could sign their petition.

In any event, this seems like a good source of information and inspiration on tactics and organizing.

[Milan]

This is encouraging:

A coalition of the world's largest investors called on governments on Tuesday to ramp up action on climate change and boost clean-energy investment or risk trillions of dollars in investments and disruption to economies.

In an open letter, the alliance of institutional investors, responsible for managing $22.5 trillion in assets, said rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions and more extreme weather were increasing investment risks globally.

The group called for dialogue between investors and governments to overhaul climate and energy policies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/investors-climate-change_n_2162767.html

It could help us rebut the argument that only environmentalists are concerned about fossil fuel investment.

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Op-ed: UW-Madison needs to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry

http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/opinion/uw-madison-needs-to-cut-ties-with-the-fossil-fuel/article_7185fa4a-32c1-11e2-b16d-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2CoLGMP2D

[pres...@toronto350.org]

From the 350.org Facebook page:

This weekend Harvard students voted overwhelmingly in favor of divesting their school's $40 billion endowment from fossil fuels. 

The vote was non-binding, but the message to their administration is clear: no more investing in companies out to wreck our future. 

Click LIKE to thank Divest Harvard for their hard work! visit http://gofossilfree.org/ to start a campaign in your community!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151245391282708&set=a.136077452707.110998.12185972707&type=1

[Milan]

Also encouraging:

Climate change should send a chill through banks

http://afr.com/p/opinion/climate_change_should_send_chill_78Dg4mC0g1EM6ggKRDJIkL

Much thinking about climate change in corporate Australia has assumed that the economic impacts would be gradual, so there would be adequate time for adaptation as those impacts became better understood.

The lowest recorded extent of Arctic sea ice this September must give pause. As the National Snow and Ice Data Centre said on releasing the data: “While we have long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur.” Furthermore, this week the World Bank warned that the planet was on track to warm by four degrees this century, and as soon as 2060 this might cause heat waves and flooding and cut crop yields.

[Milan]

Here is the petition we are using today and on the 30th.

Once we have collected signatures, we should sent it to David Naylor along with an explanatory letter and some background information.

[Milan]

In about an hour and a half of campaigning, four of us got 38 U of T students to sign our petition today.

Photos are at: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sindark/sets/72157632080192989/

It would be great to have everyone turn out for the Santa event on November 30th

[thugsb]

I created a petition online:

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/president-of-the-university-of-toronto-divest-the-university-of-toronto-from-shell

Sadly non-students can sign. If we get a petition on gofossilfree.org, that petition would allow people to state whether they're student, faculty, alum or other. I've applied to get a petition there, but it can't be created instantly.

[Milan]

As an alternative, we could use Google Docs for the petition:

http://bit.ly/SellShell

It has the advantage that we can collect extra information from U of T students, staff, and faculty. We can also encourage people to share the petition on Twitter and Facebook.

Which option do people prefer?

[Milan]

Here are the 286 petition signatures we collected during the elf and Santa events.

If someone has time, it would be great if the names and email addresses of people who checked the 'add to 350 email list' box could be put into an Excel file to be imported into MailChimp. Ideally, there should be separate columns for first name, last name, and email address.

[Milan]

Story on the U of T investment policy:

http://thevarsity.ca/2009/02/12/new-investment-policy-ready-for-a-test-run/

[thugsb]

I will try to get them into mailchimp by the weekend...

[Milan]

New York Times story about divestment campaigns:

To Stop Climate Change, Students Aim at College Portfolios

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/business/energy-environment/to-fight-climate-change-college-students-take-aim-at-the-endowment-portfolio.html?hpw&_r=1&

[Milan]

"

So, if the universities all divest, what might this do? It might lower the price of stock a little bit. That’s not going to hurt their profitability. It can—you know, there’s a way in which, early on, there was an element of miseducation unintentionally involved in this. And I think one of the few things that progressive movements can guarantee—we can’t guarantee victory, but we can guarantee a good political education. So, I think we have to be realistic about what divestment will achieve. And you have the direct impact of lowering the fossil fuel—the stock prices of fossil fuel companies. What will that do? I don’t think it will do that much to hurt them. You have the other aspect, the indirect aspect, which is this huge spectacle of students mobilizing. How can that be turned into real political power? And I argue that, ultimately—and I don’t know how exactly—it comes down, I think, to state action. If you look at the anti-apartheid movement, you look at the tobacco campaign, ultimately what happens is that governments step in. In the anti-apartheid struggle, 25 states imposed trade sanctions on South Africa, including the U.S. Reagan tried to veto this; he was overridden by the Senate. That’s what really turned the tide, and divestment was part of that. Tobacco—when do people stop smoking? When states start banning the sale and use of tobacco. That’s when people start quitting smoking and the profits go down. So I think we have to be realistic about what the limits and also the real possibilities of divestment are."

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/2/will_350org_fossil_fuel_divestment_campaign#transcript

[Milan]

http://divestharvard.com/

[pres...@toronto350.org]

https://firstheretheneverywhere.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/key-messaging-for-fossil-fuel-divestment/

"1) This is a moral movement. It is wrong for our universities to invest in companies that pollute without consequence and profit from destruction.

...

 But 350′s ask–and the ask that most schools are adopting–is todivest from the top 200 companies that own the majority of fossil fuel reserves. That means that the movement is targeting companies that profit from extraction. 

...

We want to work with the university to make sure that our investments are responsible and align with the values that are taught in the classroom and showcased around campus. "

[Milan]

This initiative doesn't seem to be connected with 350.org at this stage:

http://wildernesscommittee.org/victoria/press_release/university_victoria_invested_enbridge

"Wilderness Committee urges “green” university to divest tens of millions of dollars invested in tar sands, oil and gas companies

VICTORIA - Financial documents show the University of Victoria (UVic) has more than $4 million in pension funds invested in Enbridge Inc. and over $50 million invested in tar sands and other oil and gas producers and transporters.

Enbridge is the company behind the controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline – which if approved would ship over half a million barrels of diluted bitumen from Edmonton to Kitimat every day. The proposed pipeline and tanker route would cut through the heart of the last intact temperate rainforest on Earth, expose the entire BC coast to the risk of an oil tanker spill, and fuel the expansion of the Alberta tar sands – the dirtiest industrial project in the world. Public hearings on the highly contested and unpopular pipeline are occurring this week in Victoria and next week in Vancouver."

[Milan]

Religious communities were crucial participants in many great American social movements. Is climate change next?

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130109/fossil-fuel-divestment-movement-climate-change-global-warming-bill-mckibben-american-churches-oil-coal-natural-gas

[Milan]

Department of the Interior launches high-level review of what went wrong

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/shells-arctic-drilling-experiment-has-been-an-epic-failure-20130111

[Milan]

It would be great if someone had the time and means to attend this:

"Hi friends,

New year, new semester, and some exciting things brewing for the fossil fuel divestment movement!

As a campus leader, you should definitely check out the Power Up! Fossil Fuel Divestment Convergence at Swarthmore College from February 22-24. It's shaping up to be a really incredible gathering, with student leaders from across the country sharing and learning about how to take the divestment movement to the next level.

Click here for more info on the Power Up! convergence, including guidelines for who should attend, travel suggestions, and scholarships. The registration deadline is quickly approaching, so sign up today!

We're also hoping you'll collaborate with us on a creative project. Here's the idea: we're making a video about the great work you all have been doing and the powerful need for this movement here and now. A Fossil Free manifesto of sorts. But we want this to be your video from start to finish: will you help us write that manifesto? Click here for more info and to get involved in the project.

Thanks, everyone. And if you're looking guidance on your campus campaign, we're here to help. As always, feel free to email campaign staff at div...@350.org.

Onward,

Jenny"

[thugsb]

Here's the new petitions.

[Milan]

We should definitely attend this:

Since 2009, the Responsible Investing Committee (RIC) has been a
think tank advising the UofT Financial Services Department, and its
subsidiaries, on how to leverage its investment funds to promote
social justice and sustainability. Its mandate is to propose how the
University can better engage companies as a shareholder, from issues
to networking with IGOs, NGOs, and industry leaders to the United
Nation's PRI to the CCGG and CPP. The RIC is recruiting new members
for its 2013 term, looking for dedicated individuals with an interest
in social justice, environmental sustainability, or corporate
governance.

All interested candidates are encouraged to attend our information
session on the evening of Wednesday, January 30th, at Hart House.
Please RSVP jacly...@mail.utoronto.ca by Monday, January 28th to
attend, and for a confirmation of the exact location and time.

[Milan]

We should have a couple of people go to this:

I am excited to confirm the Responsible Investing Committee's Information Session for this Wednesday evening, the 30th of January at 6:00PM.

The location of the information session is the Board Room at Hart House.

We are looking forward to meeting everyone, providing some background on the Committee and its work as well as our exciting future endeavours. We sincerely hope everyone will be able to get involved in some capacity.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

Cheers,

Jaclyn Pace
Co-Vice Chair and Senior Outreach Director
Responsible Investing Committee
c/o Financial Services Department / Division of Business Affairs

Would someone like to come along? Stuart? Monica?

[thugsb]

Email from gofossilfree (emphasis mine):

It’s the beginning of the second semester, and over at Fossil Free we’re kicking it off with style. At over 230 campuses, students are hitting the ground running, planning action-packed semesters of divesment campaigning. In just the last two weeks students at schools like Harvard, RISD, Tufts, the Claremont colleges, and many others have met with key administrators and Trustees to push for fossil fuel divestment.

We’ve garnered big spreads in The New York Times and Boston Globe, and we’re working with partners to organize convergences and activist trainings across the country. It even seems we’ve ruffled a few feathers in the fossil industry itself: Big Oil front group API released a study last week showing that oil stocks are good investments. Check out our rebuttal here (pdf attached).

But even as we continue to make the case for divestment on campus, we’re connecting to the larger fight for a safe climate: fossil free activists in Massachusetts and Texas continue to take courageous direct action to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, and thousands gathered in Portland, ME over the weekend to stop a tar sands pipeline through New England.

Just as pushing for fossil fuel divestment on campus is a key tool in our toolbox, coming together for mass actions—like the #ForwardonClimate rally in Washington, DC, next month—will help hold our elected leaders responsible for climate action too. Click here to join us in Washington on February 17th, and stay tuned for more on how to connect with other divestment activists while you’re there.

We don’t have much time: Sir Nichloas Stern, a top climate economist who wrote a widely-read report in 2006 had this to say: “I got it wrong on climate--it’s far, far worse.” [1] That’s why over the next few months, we need to go big. We need as many students, alumni, faculty, and staff as possible signed onto campus campaigns; we need to push for fossil fuel divestment at even more campuses, as well as through other kinds of institutions like houses of worship and municipal governments.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out a bunch of new tools at gofossilfree.org, from powerpoint presentations to reports on alternative investment to easy-to-read climate factsheets and guides. And, we’ll be working with our partners to run workshops across the country where you can build your organizing, media, and direct action skills.

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Mie tracked down two extremely useful documents, which I have attached.

We should all aim to understand this history and these processes well and we should begin focusing our efforts along the lines specified in these documents.

[Milan]

Useful New York Times Article: "Shell to Pay $15.5 Million to Settle Nigerian Case"

[Milan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/business/global/09shell.html?ref=global&_r=0

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Divestment-related documents from Tufts, located by Mie

[pres...@toronto350.org]

A report published and put together by the Indigenous Environmental Network and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, located by Monica

[Milan]

Divest McGill has prepared a social injury brief and presented it to their Board of Governors on February 1, 2013

[Milan]

There is a lot of good stuff on their website: https://divestmcgill.wordpress.com/

[Milan]

HSBC Global Research

Oil & carbon revisited: Value at risk from 'unburnable' reserves

[Milan]

Letter from hedge fund manager Tom Steyer to the board of Middlebury College in Vermont

[thugsb]

Hmm, I posted my copy of the radio interview here, and it was deleted. Weird.

Anyway, here's a copy of it online: http://www.radio4all.net/files/thegreen...@gmail.com/4636-2-TGM_Milan_Ilnyckyj_020813.mp3

[thugsb]

How to make divestment easier than keeping investments:

• Provide alternatives (do we want to do this?)
• Publicity
• Go for positive at first (promises of, and highlight that divesting is positive—Maine got higher admissions and higher alum donations)
• Resort to negative if we get rejected
• Alum pressure (largely donations, either being withheld or promised)
• Show how their own investment ethics are currently being violated (publicity)
• Petition and student support
• Faculty support, esp in specific ares, and esp for younger faculty (do you want your pension to mean something?)
• Highlight grim predictions from (esp) economic and energy reports
• Show the uncertainty of fossil-fuel investments (can you really jump out of the way of the bulldozer at the last second, given market instability)
• ... and research other ways, esp from other divestment campaigns

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Worth a look, especially given how the U of T divestment policy specifically calls for the use of the Yale definition of social injury.

http://acir.yale.edu/policies_and_past_actions.html

According to them ""social injury" means "the injurious impact which the activities of a company are found to have on consumers, employees, or other persons, particularly including activities which violate, or frustrate the enforcement of, rules of domestic or international law intended to protect individuals against deprivation of health, safety, or basic freedoms; for the purposes of these Guidelines, social injury shall not consist of doing business with other companies which are themselves engaged in socially injurious activities.""

[pres...@toronto350.org]

These documents are also worth a look:

Communication with Harvard Administration

Information on Divestment Movement

Annual Financial Report of Harvard University

HMC Endowment Report, September 2012

SEC Filings for Harvard Management Company

The “Carbon Bubble” 

Does Socially Responsible Investing Hurt Investment Returns?

Pamphlet: Vote Yes to Divest on UC Referendum #1

[thugsb]

Have you seen this paper already?

http://individual.utoronto.ca/goel/SRI_at_U_of_T.doc

[pres...@toronto350.org]

This could be interesting:

This weekend, student activists will gather at Swarthmore College for the Power Up! Convergence. Even as we're getting ready to launch our broader divestment work, students are gearing up to really take the campus movement to the next level. Click here to watch a livestream of tomorrow's keynote speakers (livestream starts Saturday at 7:30 EST).

[pres...@toronto350.org]

The Case for Fossil-Fuel Divestment

On the road with the new generation of college activists fighting for the environment

By Bill McKibben

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-fossil-fuel-divestment-20130222

[pres...@toronto350.org]

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Also at: http://toronto350.org/files/Case-for-Fossil-Fuel-Divestment.pdf

[thugsb]

In fact, says former college president Powell, such an analysis suggests trustees have a quasi-legal duty to do all they can about climate change: "The board is supposed to make sure that the endowment allows for intergenerational equity, that the students who are going to Oberlin in 2075 get as much benefit from it as those there now. But with global warming, you're guaranteeing a diminution of quality of life decades out."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-fossil-fuel-divestment-20130222#ixzz2LfmefMn8 

[pres...@toronto350.org]

We should see if we can get an endorsement for the divestment campaign or other assistance from this guy:

“The Canadian government has no credible plan for stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions, much less reducing them,” Danny Harvey, a University of Toronto climate scientist, said in a statement. He called for “across-the-board deep reductions” in emissions, and said “continued expansion of the oil sands operations runs counter to this imperative.”

m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/scientists-call-for-ottawa-to-take-dramatic-steps-to-curb-emissions/article9017889?service=mobile

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Oil sands investors, it turns out, should have listened to environmentalists after all.

Placing a bet on the oil sands, once thought of as a sure path to riches, is looking like an over-hyped investment theme in the process of confronting a less glamorous reality. Stocks in companies involved in the industry have been taking on water, but they’re not yet cheap enough to make compelling buys.

As a proxy for the sector, consider the iShares Oil Sands Index Fund, which contains a who’s who of the industry, including Suncor Energy Inc., Cenovus Energy Inc., Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., Imperial Oil Ltd. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. It has lost more than half its value since mid-2008 – from around $30 a share to only $13.70.

This massive destruction of shareholder value required a true group effort.

For starters, it’s now obvious that many retail investors were heedless of the political risks that go along with oil sands development. Memo to Main Street: You should proceed with caution when opponents have successfully turned an industry into a global symbol of environmental destruction.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/proceed-with-caution-when-betting-against-environmentalists/article9010063/?service=mobile

[thugsb]

Good resources here, including template letters to send to faculty/alum etc.

http://gofossilfree.ca/resources/

[thugsb]

I've attached the new petitions, which can be printed and used immediately.

I've also made the online petition match: http://act.gofossilfree.org/act/Fossil_Free_Toronto

[Stu Basden]

More petitions, formatted more nicely by Kai.

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Thanks a lot for posting these.

There are a bunch of events coming up where we might be able to get some signatures, as well as get our message out and raise awareness about the group.

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Divestment materials from Middlebury College

[Milan]

From Jenny at GoFossilFree:

Hi campus leaders,

The semester is in full swing, and we're pumped about all the cool things that have already happened -- from the Swarthmore convergence, to the DC meet-up, to the Divest the West action at the UC regents meeting. One of the greatest things was last week's #MarchForth Day of Action -- and we want to build off that awesome energy.

We'd like to work with you all to organize another Day of Action toward the end of the semester. As we've all seen, a DoA is a great way to both build solidarity across campuses and energize individual campaigns. They're also an excellent media hook, which can help elevate your campaign's story and pressure your administration on a larger scale.

But we want to know what you think. Good idea or no? Do you have any burning and brilliant theme ideas? And how would you be interested in plugging in personally?

We put together this short survey to gather your feedback. Please tell us what you think!

We're also interested in hearing about what sort of trainings your group might be interested in, so we threw in some questions about that too. We've got some awesome trainers and resources on tap, and we want to share them with you -- let us know what would be useful.

Thanks, everyone!

Onward,

Jenny

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Bolsters the argument that divestment is not a financial sacrifice:

Socially responsible investment funds hold their own

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/number-cruncher/socially-responsible-investment-funds-hold-their-own/article9845687/?service=mobile

[Milan]

From The New York Times:

Interior Dept. Warns Shell on Arctic Drilling

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/business/global/interior-dept-warns-shell-on-arctic-drilling.html?src=rechp&_r=0

[Milan]

We should incorporate this into the brief:

Environmental Woes Could Reverse Global Development

Climate change and other environmental disasters could put 3.1 billion people into extreme poverty by 2050, if no significant steps are taken, says an annual United Nations report on the state of global development.

“While environmental threats such as climate change, deforestation, air and water pollution, and natural disasters affect everyone, they hurt poor countries and poor communities most,” noted the report’s authors.

Though the world has become fairer overall, “environmental threats are among the most grave impediments to lifting human development, and their consequences for poverty are likely to be high,” according to the authors.

The 2013 Human Development Report, released last week by the United Nations Development Programme, gives both a global snapshot and extensive predictions of the world’s state of development. Since 1990 the report has featured the Human Development Index, a number roughly based on life expectancy, education and relative income, to compare different countries and regions. This method of comparison has led to the oft-cited top ten countries to live in.

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/environmental-woes-could-reverse-global-development/?src=rechp

[Milan]

[pres...@toronto350.org]

Want to blog on GoFossilFree.org?

We'd like to open up the GoFossilFree.org blog to a wider group of writers and bring in some more diverse voices. Want to be one of them?

If you've got updates from your campus, stories from the movement, or longer-form pieces you'd like to share with the Fossil Free community, you should apply for a blogger spot! To apply, please email div...@gofossilfree.org with:

• Your name, year, and campus
  
• Your divestment group & role with that group, if applicable
  
• A few sentences about what kind of content you'd like to post and how often (we'd prefer regular posts, e.g. 2-3 times/month, but one-offs are fine too if you've got a burning topic to pitch)
  
• A link or attachment with a writing sample (ideally less formal, non-academic nonfiction)

Not at all sure how many of you are gonna jump at this opportunity, but we'll try to get back to you as soon as possible! 

Thanks everyone,

Allyse

[thugsb]

The man who made billions by predicting every recent financial crisis is speaking out:
From where he stands, this bubble, the "carbon bubble", is the biggest he's seen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/12/jeremy-grantham-environmental-philanthropist-interview

[thugsb]

Unburnable fuel

Either governments are not serious about climate change or fossil-fuel firms are overvalued

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21577097-either-governments-are-not-serious-about-climate-change-or-fossil-fuel-firms-are?fsrc=scn%2Ftw_ec%2Funburnable_fuel

Somehow it's available before it was already written (check out the dates: http://d.pr/i/QWmq ;)

[pres...@toronto350.org]

This free webinar looks useful:

You are invited to join the conversation on fossil-free pensions: why it's necessary and how it can be pursued. Next Weds, June 19, at 1pm pacific / 4pm eastern, RSVP below. 

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

How Can Pension Funds Reduce Risk, Be More Responsible, and

Pursue Divesting from Fossil Fuels?

 

350.org, HIP Investor, First Affirmative & Mayors Innovation Project

Co-Host Free Webinar on Climate Risk Reduction & Fossil-Free Investing

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO – More than 10 cities have committed to reducing risk, be more responsible in their investing, and divest fossil-fuel energy firms from their portfolios.  How can pension funds achieve their risk-reduction goal swiftly?

 

On Wednesday, June 19, 2013, a coalition of city leaders, investment managers, pension consultants, and divestment campaigners will host an online webinar to present the findings from the new report “Resilient Portfolios & Fossil-Free Pensions” on adapting city and state pension funds for resiliency to 21st century risks, and the paths to drastically reducing or eliminating fossil fuel exposure.

 

Climate change and the fossil fuel industry’s current business plan pose a pressing risk to city and state pension funds. If pension funds remain tied to past assumptions and ignore emerging trends, they could soon face increased risks and potentially severe losses to their portfolios.

 

More than 10 cities across New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, Oregon and California have already committed to pursue fossil fuel divestment as part of a growing divestment campaign, which builds on the spread of divestment advocated on more than 300 campuses and engaged with more than 100 cities, states and religious institutions.

 

This free, online webinar will be valuable for city, county, and state pension fund trustees, fiduciaries, and investment professionals, as well as, leaders, managers and staff of forward thinking municipalities and regional governments.

 

RSVP registration for this event is free and can be completed at:

http://www.divestment.eventbrite.com/

 

WHAT: “How to Reduce Climate Risk and Go Fossil-Free in Pension Funds”: free, online webinar, featuring 350.org, HIP Investor, First Affirmative & Mayors Innovation Project

 

WHEN: Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. EDT / 1:00 - 2:00 pm PDT

 

WHO:

Satya Rhodes-Conway, Senior Associate of the Mayors Innovation Project, Madison, WI;

Steve Schueth, President of First Affirmative Financial Network, Boulder, CO;

R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP Investor Inc., San Francisco, CA;

Jay Carmona, Divestment Campaigner with 350.org, Oakland, CA;

 

###

For More Information: 
Jay Carmona, 350.org, 510-502-0752, j...@350.org