Issues Under Review
The Representative Assembly of the San Diego Divisional Academic Senate has approved a vote of Divisional Senate members on whether to adopt a resolution urging the University of California to pursue a fossil fuel divestment strategy. The resolution is displayed below, followed by a compilation of relevant background materials. The resolution will be voted upon as part of the 2016-17 Senate election.
Fossil Fuel Divestment Resolution
For a vote of the Divisional Senate members.Whereas, global warming due to carbon emissions is a profound threat to the suitability of our planet for our descendants and other species, and effective actions against global warming are currently blocked in the United States by massive political contributions of fossil fuel corporations;
Whereas, fossil fuel stocks may further fall in value if proven reserves must remain in the ground in order to meet the goals of the Paris conference;
In view of the pioneering research by UCSD faculty in discovering and documenting the scientific basis of global warming;
Notwithstanding the exemplary leadership of the University of California, its President, Faculty and Staff in committing to a carbon-free and sustainable future;
We, the faculty of the San Diego Divisional Senate respectfully request the Regents to instruct the UC Chief Investment Officer to divest our investment portfolio of stocks in companies whose primary business concerns the extraction and sale of fossil fuels.
1. Current mainstream overviews of global warming
- EPA Climate Change Website
- Climate Change 2014 Synthesis ReportIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Paris AgreementThe Paris Agreement (to be signed 4/22/16) commits >150 nations to keep anthropogenic climate change well below 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. We are currently at ~1ºC.
2. What are the likely consequences of not attaining the goals of the Paris accords?
- Carbon choices determine US cities committed to futures below sea levelSea level rise inundating cities home to hundreds of millions of people.
- The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protectionMillions of species will go extinct
- Carbon choices determine US cities committed to futures below sea level
3. What are 'stranded assets'?
- Carbon TrackerOnly a small proportion (perhaps 20%) of currently identified fossil fuel reserves can be utilized if the planet is to achieve its agreed goal of limiting the increase in average global temperature to 2ºC.
- The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to 2 6C
- Carbon Capture SCAMMore carbon could be burned if massive Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technologies are implemented. Despite massive investments, CCS has had very limited success and is very expensive. Their partial success has been due to the recovered CO2 being used for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), which probably greatly diminishes the net decrease in CO2. Governments have been cancelling CCS subsidies.
- Carbon Tracker