About Us
As young people, we refuse to sit idly by and accept a future wrought with climate destruction. We know that solutions to the climate crisis are numerous and complex. But we know that above all, we need the will to change. The consequences of inaction are unacceptable, and our society must muster the bravery to to what is required for our planet and its people.
In May 2014, Stanford made a historic commitment to divest its $22 billion endowment from the coal industry. But today, Stanford is still invested in oil and gas companies that contribute massively to climate change. We can and must do better.
We ask Stanford University to:
Unless those 100 companies publicly commit to:
In May 2014, Stanford made a historic commitment to divest its $22 billion endowment from the coal industry. But today, Stanford is still invested in oil and gas companies that contribute massively to climate change. We can and must do better.
We ask Stanford University to:
- Immediately freeze any new investment in the top 100 oil and gas companies, ranked by carbon content of their proven fuel reserves, and,
- Divest within five years from direct ownership in those 100 companies and from any commingled funds that include their equities or corporate bonds
Unless those 100 companies publicly commit to:
- Only burning 20% or less of their reserves, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has agreed is the maximum before we hit "dangerous anthropogenic interference with our climate system"
- Stop seeking new fossil fuel reserves, given that they already control five times the resources we can afford to burn
- Stop actively lobbying against national legislation and international agreements that would limit GHG emissions
Our Beginning
In 2012, five Stanford undergraduates heard Bill McKibben speak about the terrifying new math of global warming. McKibben's Do The Math tour was the start of the global fossil fuel divestment movement, Fossil Free. It was also the impetus for Stanford's own part of the movement: after a couple months of planning between the five first members, Fossil Free Stanford was born.
Three years later, our core team is more than 30 members strong. More than 3,200 community members have signed our petition calling on Stanford to divest from fossil fuel companies. In 2014, 75% of the Stanford undergraduate body voted in favor of divestment. Over 380 Stanford faculty have signed onto a letter calling for divestment. Hundreds of alumni have sent letters of support to Stanford President Hennessy and the Board of Trustees. A direct action sit-in took place November 16-20 involving over 100 student activists and a dozen teach-ins by professors. The list goes on, and our strength only grows each day.
We are thousands of students, faculty, alumni, and Stanford affiliates seeking to build a more just and sustainable world. We are Fossil Free Stanford.
Click here to see some of the faces of Fossil Free Stanford
Click here to read about why we choose the vehicle of divestment
Three years later, our core team is more than 30 members strong. More than 3,200 community members have signed our petition calling on Stanford to divest from fossil fuel companies. In 2014, 75% of the Stanford undergraduate body voted in favor of divestment. Over 380 Stanford faculty have signed onto a letter calling for divestment. Hundreds of alumni have sent letters of support to Stanford President Hennessy and the Board of Trustees. A direct action sit-in took place November 16-20 involving over 100 student activists and a dozen teach-ins by professors. The list goes on, and our strength only grows each day.
We are thousands of students, faculty, alumni, and Stanford affiliates seeking to build a more just and sustainable world. We are Fossil Free Stanford.
Click here to see some of the faces of Fossil Free Stanford
Click here to read about why we choose the vehicle of divestment
