1,000 signatures reached
To: University of Melbourne
Divest Now, UniMelb!
Currently, the University of Melbourne is invested in and has ties to multiple fossil fuel corporations. These companies include ExxonMobile and Saudi Aramco. As reported by Farrago in 2020, these ties don’t just stop at investment.
In the past, the University has claimed to commit to divestment, but it is clear that these are just words, instead of action. The 2017-2020 Sustainability Plan’s target was to “have divested from, or be in the process of divesting from” any investments “that do not satisfy the requirements of the University’s sustainable investment framework for managing material climate change risk” by 2021.
It is now 2022, and no divestment has occurred at the University of Melbourne.
Why is this important?
The University must act now. It is abhorrent that in preparing students for their future, they are complicit in the destruction of our future.
We demand that:
1. That the University ceases any new investments in fossil fuels,
2. That the University commits to divesting its existing investments from fossil fuels within 5 years, and
3. The University instead invests in companies that have committed to mitigating their impact on climate change.