Princeton U. To Divest From Some Sectors Of Fossil Fuel Industry

PRINCETON, NJ — At a recently-held meeting, the Princeton University Board of Trustees announced that the institution will divest from some sectors of the fossil fuel industry.

In a statement, the Board of Trustees announced the University will divest from “thermal coal and tar sands segments of the fossil fuel industry” as well as companies that “engaged in climate disinformation campaigns.”

The announcement comes after years of activism from students and community members, especially Divest Princeton — a coalition of Princeton students, professors, and alumni.

The University said it will set a target date by which to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across their endowment portfolio, which is around $26 billion.

In April, students and local activists held a rally at the University to urge the institution to divest its endowment from fossil fuels.

Read More Here: Invest In Solution, Not Pollution: Activists Tell Princeton U.

“These steps, taken by the University’s Board of Trustees, are the result of a thoughtful process around the question of fossil fuel dissociation that included input from stakeholders across the campus community,” the University said in a statement.

Businesses involved in thermal coal and tar sands will be exempt from dissociation only if they prove they can meet a “rigorous standard for greenhouse gas emissions,” the University said.

The Council of the Princeton University Community Resources Committee made recommendations to the board. The Resources Committee published a report on its findings and recommendations in May.

The University said CPUC Resources Committee’s work was initiated in response to a petition submitted by Divest Princeton in February 2020.

Petitioners asked the University to divest from all direct and indirect holdings of fossil fuel companies and “to prohibit new research and associative financial relationships with fossil fuel companies.”

Following the announcement, Divest Princeton sent out an email acknowledging the decision and said they will continue to push the University for a timeline to render the endowment carbon neutral.

“To the more than 2250 who signed No Donations Until Divestment, to former student organizers for divestment at Princeton, to the broader movement for climate justice around the world, together we have moved Princeton in the right direction,” the group said in a statement.

Divest Princeton said they will continue to push for “deadlines and a meaningful definition of net-zero,” and for climate experts and members to have a “seat at the table.”

Divest Princeton said it will ask the University for rigorous screening of companies that promote disinformation and will “demand that Princeton ends its greenwashing of fossil fuel companies.”

“As well as being critical of the announcement, it is important to take a moment to recognize that this is a significant moment in Princeton's history,” the group said in their email.

“We have all worked so hard on this, building on the organizing from activists from Princeton and around the world.”

“Now, we must push Princeton to go the distance.”

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