UCT divestment: Progress! + an opportunity to engage
Dear Fossil Free SA supporter,
It has been a hard few days to watch the devastation of the Cape Town wildfire on UCT. One of the unfortunate impacts of climate change is the growing intensity and frequency of disasters such as wildfires. That, coupled with the fuel load of the alien pine forest on UCT property, may have worsened the fire.
The increase of such disasters as a result of climate change is just one of many reasons FFSA has been calling on UCT to stop investing in the fossil fuels that are leading to climate breakdown. But there is some good news....
After years of putting pressure on the University of Cape Town to divest from climate-breaking fossil fuels, the university has at last formally launched its responsible investment panel (the University Panel on Responsible Investment, or UPRI) and approved a Responsible and Sustainable Investment Policy! The UPRI now has a formal website, here.
This is major progress indeed. But what now? We must ensure that institutional tweaks, however promising, don’t inadvertently become a cover for greenwashing. The conservative asset managers and advisers that serve UCT have shown no signs hitherto of embracing the kinds of systemic change that is needed, and they will be most likely push back to try to ensure UCT's responsible investment strategy does not disrupt their preferred status quo.
We have to keep up the pressure now to ensure that the UPRI and UCT actually embraces the Climate Emergency Investment Plan we proposed and that was endorsed by UCT's Convocation last December:
Publicly acknowledge the climate emergency, and that it demands dramatic shifts in investment practices.
Immediately divert R300 m from the R7 billion UCT endowment to new fossil free, socially responsible SA equity fund/s; and divest offshore funds.
Work together with other SA universities and progressive investors such as philanthropies to foster further such funds.
Commit to complete divestment over five years.
What you can do
If you're part of the UCT community / alumni, you will be able to attend the virtual launch this Thursday, 22 April at 18:30 (Teams link here). We encourage you to attend and to speak out if possible in favour of divestment, and for the UPRI to make determined and principled recommendations echoing our climate emergency investment plan.
Part of the UCT community or not, you can engage on the panel's call for engagement on fossil fuel divestment, for which the deadline is 14 May.
Thank you for your continued support!
David, Sarah, and the FFSA team