Divest Manitoba

Yesterday, UofM President Michael Benarroch made the announcement a bit more official:
"These principles ensure we divest from fossil fuels and any holdings that violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples."

He was speaking about the investment policy adopted by the Board of Governors back on March 28. See our previous post for more information.

Read his full comments here: https://news.umanitoba.ca/presidents-message-for-earth-day-2023/

President’s message for Earth Day 2023 Saturday is Earth Day and I want to once again take this opportunity to share some important developments the University of Manitoba has taken to decrease its carbon footprint. I also want to say than

It has been a long and arduous fight, but divestment has come to the University of Manitoba. There has been a lack of student-based organizing and campaigning on campus in recent years, but all was not lost.

When the Responsible Investment Committee (RIC) was formed, at the outlook it seemed as though full divestment from fossil fuels would not be possible - or at least not without a fight..
https://news.umanitoba.ca/um-committee-tackling-responsible-investment-opportunities/

After 3 years of meetings, the Board of Governors adopted the investment policy as recommended by the RIC:
https://news.umanitoba.ca/ums-new-responsible-investment-policy-will-contribute-to-a-more-sustainable-and-equitable-world/

Not explicitly mentioned in the UM Today article is "Commitment 5: Divest from Investments in Fossil Fuel Supply" from the PDF document located at the bottom of the article, available for download. Subsections contained include:
"a) The University will make no new direct investments in fossil fuel supply from the end of 2023 forward
b) The University will divest from all direct investment in fossil fuel supply companies by the end of 2024
c) The University will divest from indirect investment in fossil fuel supply by 2030 at the latest
d) The University will define fossil fuel supply as a company involved in the exploration, extraction, and/or refining of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal)"

To read more, check out the links and peruse the full document.

UM’s new responsible investment policy will contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world A new policy to integrate responsible investing principles into UM’s decision-making was approved on Mar. 28 by the Board of Governors (BOG). The policy aligns with the University of Manitoba’s co

New report states that institutional from has been growing rapidly. Will the be next to join this movement?

"There are now 1,485 institutions publicly committed to at least some form of fossil fuel divestment, representing an enormous $39.2 trillion of assets under management. That's as if the two biggest economies in the world, the United States and China, combined, chose to divest from fossil fuels."

"Since the movement's first summary report in 2014, the amount of total assets publicly committed to divestment has grown by over 75,000%."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/10/26/climate-movement-hails-mind-blowing-40-trillion-fossil-fuel-divestment-pledges

Climate Movement Hails 'Mind-Blowing' $40 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledges "Divestment has helped rub much of the shine off what was once the planet's dominant industry," said 350.org's Bill McKibben. "If money talks, $40 trillion makes a lot of noise."