Civic Forum on Climate Change and Divestment

Sunday, Nov 14, 2021 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Overview

Climate change is arguably the greatest challenge of our time, and one that will disproportionately affect young people. 

Over the past two weeks, leaders from around the world have been gathering in Scotland for the Conference of Partners (COP26), an international conference to ensure we collectively meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This particular conference is critical because it’s still possible to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of cutting global emissions in half by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050…but we have to act NOW. 

There’s some good news: A little less than a week before the start of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, activists announced that the fossil fuel divestment campaign has reached new heights. Endowments, portfolios, and pension funds worth just shy of $40 trillion have now committed to full or partial abstinence from coal, gas and oil stocks. For comparison’s sake, that’s larger than the gross domestic product of the United States and China combined.


And there’s some way less good news: COP26 comes at a time when the US’ own commitment to climate action is tenuous. Biden had hoped to showcase legislation designed to fulfill a U.S. pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, seeking to provide an example that would encourage other nations to take bold, quick action to protect the Earth. Unfortunately, Congress was not able to reach an agreement before the Conference.

The battle to wind down the fossil fuel industry proceeds on two tracks: the political and the financial. Those tracks cross regularly — the influence of money in politics is clear on energy legislation — and when the biggest opponents of climate action are weakened, everything gets easier. Divestment has helped rub much of the shine off what was once the planet’s dominant industry. If money talks, $40 trillion makes a lot of noise.

Ten years ago, the divestment movement began because young people recognized that the fossil fuel industry--and its political and economic power--represented the primary obstacle to a just and sustainable future. Today, the industry's inability to change is clearer than it's ever been—as is the complicity of institutions who remain invested in it—but its power is in rapid decline. At a moment when we can't afford any more delay in achieving a just transition off fossil fuels, it's also clear that it's up to everyday community members and grassroots activists to keep dismantling the fossil fuel industry's reign, especially by turning up the heat (so to speak…) on every institution and official who's sided with the industry.


High school and college students are leading the way, from icons like Greta Thunberg to masses of “regular teens” who express profound concerns in polls. Two months ago, in September 2021, after decades of petitioning, protesting, and politicking met with obfuscation and seeming intransigence from the university, authorities at Harvard University--the richest and arguably most prestigious university in the world--made a surprising announcement that it would divest from fossil fuels. This was a huge triumph--and clearly demonstrates what sustained student pressure can do. What made Harvard finally take action after years of claiming that divestment was a risk that could imperil the endowment--and what are the implications for activism more broadly?

We’ll have the opportunity to discuss this in depth with November Forum Speaker Ilana Cohen, climate journalist, fossil fuel divestment activist, and Harvard College student studying philosophy and social studies with a focus on the ethics of climate and environmental policymaking and the intersection of social justice and law. Ilana helped relaunch the Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard campaign when she started at Harvard in fall 2019 and has worked with other students to bring about this historic divestment from fossil fuel. 

We’ll focus on the question, “what do you do when there's a powerful industry blocking major climate legislation and preventing the necessary steps to tackling climate change and achieving a just transition on a science-aligned timeline?” 

We’ll dive into the history and strategy of the divestment movement, the current state of the movement, and organizing practices, as well as share different examples/contexts where fossil fuel money/influence is relevant in our daily lives (like oil-backed Joe Manchin killing key climate provisions in the current budget bill.)  


We’ll get an update on how things have been going at COP26-- “fun facts” include that the fossil fuel industry has the largest delegation at the summit, that the cost of capital has spiked for fossil fuel producers, and that countries’ climate pledges are built on flawed data.


And we’ll engage in deliberation around how to engage with the biggest existential threat of our/all time. 


We look forward to this vital session together!

Background Resources