400-foot tall sheets of ice falling into the ocean, a glacier taller than skyscrapers and wider than islands collapsing in minutes, spikes pushed 600 feet into the air just as quickly as they fall again: the real-life, real-time calving of a glacier was caught on camera by some act of chance. Its fall reminds us that climate change is here, and that warming is accelerating across the globe.
As students at 234 universities across North America launch campaigns calling on their schools to divest from fossil fuels, the question is not, “Will they divest?” but instead, “Who will go first?” and, “What happens if we do not take action?” Unity College and Hampshire College, two small liberal arts colleges in the U.S., have taken the step. Now it is McGill’s turn.
On Feb. 1, Divest McGill formally submitted its request to the Board of Governors (BoG) of McGill. With over 760 signatures from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and with our fully-argued social injury briefs, we have put combating climate change on the agenda of this school.
Secretary-General Steven Strople was extremely gracious and received our petition in person, and indeed, Divest McGill has found strong allies so far in the University. Many sectors of the administration seem genuinely excited about the prospect of divestment, and we are grateful for all of the support we have received.
Divestment alone will not solve climate change, but it can, and will precipitate larger action. As Canada accelerates the exploitation of the tar sands of Northern Alberta, and as the U.S. continues practices of hydraulic fracturing and mountain top removal, constituent power and citizen action is the only way forward.
McGill is a moral beacon for Canada, and its successes and mistakes garner national interest because Canadians hold the institution in the highest regard. When McGill chooses to divest, when it holds its investment policy to the same environmental standards to which it holds the rest of its practices, it will create shockwaves in the energy sector and should shake us out of our addiction to fossil fuels. Vision 2020 summarized the feelings of the McGill community in this way, writing:
“Our decisions and actions reflect our role as part of nature and our duty to current and future generals and the planet…. At McGill, we strive to be one of the best universities in the world by doing our best for the world.” Let’s live up to that commitment. Divest McGill is still accepting signatures on its petitions, and we will do our best to make sure your interests and convictions are carried forward.
In the meantime, the conversation around divestment opens up tremendous creative possibilities. Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), which fully endorses divestment, is considering an Alternative Investment Case Competition, where students can use their know-how to plan what SSMU could do with its investment fund to better promote the interests of students. That could mean a Green Revolving Fund, where money is invested in efficiency improvements, and the savings are carried forward, or it could mean investing in affordable housing, or even creating a venture capital fund to promote student entrepreneurialism. That’s up to students.
Another conversation brought forward by divestment centres around alternatives: we all know that the tar sands will employ many McGill alumni, especially in the sciences and engineering, and Divest McGill certainly does not want to make it harder for graduates to find a job, but why not expand connections with companies in renewable engineering, green transportation, or sustainable construction? Let’s have green job fairs in addition to the existing relationships with employers, so that graduating students truly have opportunities and the freedom to pursue whatever sort of career they want. Too often, engineering and science students enter university wanting to make a difference in the world, but end up working for fossil fuel companies because the alternatives are not very clear. We can do better than that.
This is the chance of a lifetime, literally. We are reaching the point of no return, after which runaway climate change is a certainty. Here at Divest McGill, we know that action is needed, and divestment is one tool in a broader struggle. But it is an important one, an exciting one, and with the help of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and, yes, administrators, McGill can lead the way to a carbon-neutral Canada. Let’s stand up to climate change and stand up for our future. Let’s divest.
Christopher Bangs is a spokesperson for Divest McGill.
