Low-carbon transition through a duty to divest: Back to the future, ahead to the past

Filho, Walter Leal; Beynaghi, Ali; Al‐Amin, Abul Quasem; Jabbour, Chadi; Esteban, Miguel; Mozafari, Masoud

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2018.05.059

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Campaigns often saw it as the duty of their HEIs to help facilitate this transition because of their institutional values and important position within society. This aligns with the position of scholars who view FFD as a necessary direction for HE sustainability in the era of climate change that embraces more outward, transformative action, grounded in principles of equity and social justice [4,16,17,86,89].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…This consensus does not reflect how HEIs always act when pursuing divestment. Divestment strategies used by HEIs include divestment from all fossil fuel companies, divestment from the CU 200, and divestment from specific sectors, such as coal or tar sands; and HEIs may choose to divest from direct or both direct and indirect holdings [4,66,86]. Of US HEIs that have committed to FFD, 25% have committed to less than full forms of divestment as categorized by 350.org, including 16% of divesting HEIs that have committed solely to divestment from coal or coal and tar sands [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting Discourse on Climate and Sustainability: Key Characteristics of the Higher Education Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement

Gibson

Duram

2020

Sustainability

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In the last decade, the fossil fuel divestment (FFD) movement has emerged as a key component of an international grassroots mobilization for climate justice. Using a text analysis of Facebook pages for 144 campaigns at higher education institutions (HEIs), this article presents an overview and analysis of the characteristics of the higher education (HE) FFD movement in the US. The results indicate that campaigns occur at a wide array of HEIs, concentrated on the east and west coasts. Primarily student led, campaigns set broad goals for divestment, while reinvestment is often a less clearly defined objective. Campaigns incorporate a mixture of environmental, social, and economic arguments into their messaging. Justice is a common theme, used often in a broad context rather than towards specific populations or communities impacted by climate change or other social issues. These insights contribute to the understanding of the HE FFD movement as ten years of campus organizing approaches. In particular, this study illustrates how the movement is pushing sustainability and climate action in HE and in broader society towards a greater focus on systemic change and social justice through campaigns’ hardline stance against fossil fuels and climate justice orientation.

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