We, the undersigned University of Toronto librarians, call upon U of T to divest from direct stock holdings in the world's 200 fossil fuel companies with the largest reserves of coal, oil, and gas within the next five years.
To prevent widespread ecological and ice-sheet collapse we must limit global warming to 2 ˚C.
Scientific consensus indicates that to stay within this 2 ˚C margin, we must cap carbon dioxide emissions at 565 gigatons. Because companies currently own fossil fuel holdings sufficient to produce 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the risk is clear. For companies to exploit these holdings - as they are bound to by their current business model - would mean raising atmospheric carbon dioxide to very dangerous levels.
The alternative - for U of T to remain invested in fossil fuel companies - presents us with a paradox.
If a university seeks to educate extraordinary youth so they achieve the brightest possible future, what does it mean for that university to simultaneously invest in the destruction of that future?
When it comes to the future our students will live to see, there is a scientifically documented, morally clear, technologically innovative right thing to do: divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in a sustainable future.
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