Temple Student Government supports universities’ fossil fuel divestment

Temple Student Government, in partnership with Temple Climate Action, released a statement endorsing Temple’s divestment from fossil fuels on April 23, days before the new TSG administration took over on April 29.

The 2023-2024 TSG Cabinet, led by President Rohan Khadka, and the next student government, ReimagineTU, will continue to endorse the declaration. ReimagineTU hopes to set up more sustainability initiatives, such as cleaning up Greek life blocks.

ReimagineTU hopes to maintain the established relationship between TSG, TCA and the Office of Sustainability, said Ray Epstein, junior communications and social influence major TSG president.

“We will continue to advocate for Temple’s divestment from fossil fuels, and for an overall increase in sustainable practices across campus,” Epstein said.

The full statement from TSG and TCA encourages the university to be a leader on climate change, take steps toward environmental responsibility and encourage a stronger connection between TCA, a non-Temple affiliated ecological club, and Temple’s Office of Sustainability. It also emphasizes the importance of being a good neighbor to the Temple community and North Philadelphia.

“Temple’s commitment to the Good Neighbor Policy, to build proactive relationships from Temple to positively contribute to their residential communities, is directly related to divestiture,” TSG and TCA wrote in the statement. “The investment in fossil fuels increases the risk of water pollution and poor air quality in the Philadelphia region. Divestment is causing a dramatic change in the health and quality of life for both Temple students and surrounding community members.

TCA began calling for fossil fuel divestment since the group’s founding in 2022 through protests, canvassing and a petition started at the club’s founding.

While the statement marks the first time TSG has directly addressed the issue and called for divestment, they have previously advocated for sustainability this academic year, pushing for less waste in the dining hall, volunteering for the Temple Community Garden and hold Green Council meetings to raise awareness. to sustainability organizations.

“Temple claims to be a pioneer on climate and their urgency should be focused on this divestment, along with universities like Harvard, Yale, Rutgers and Syracuse,” said Caroline Kotch, director of sustainability for TSG and a junior political science major. “Supporting divestment as a whole for Temple would be a pioneer in climate change progress.”

Some universities, such as Rutgers, Princeton and Johns Hopkins, have begun divesting assets from the fossil fuel industry, according to Divestment Database, an international tracker of fossil fuel divestment.

In 2020, Harvard, which currently has more than $1 billion invested in the fossil fuel industry, committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and divesting from fossil fuels. Rutgers had previously invested 5% of its $1.6 billion capital in fossil fuels. 2021, but plans to halt all new investments and divest by 2031.

“Divesting fossil fuels merely represents a commitment to prioritizing communities over profits,” said Ty Fowler, junior philosophy major and events coordinator for TCA. “Opposing the power and influence of oil and gas on our university is part of moving away from the fossil fuel industry.”

The Office of Sustainability recently published its 2022-2023 Sustainability Annual Report, which outlines progress on several sustainability goals since the 2019 Climate Action Plan was established. The Agency is also working on the next version of a climate action plan, which will be divided into the Sustainability Action Plan 2024 and an emissions reduction plan.

The most recent estimate shows Temple investing about 3% in “blended funds,” Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer, wrote in an email to The Temple News.

However, the university is not required to disclose financial investments because it is not a publicly traded company. Temple uses natural gas and electricity as the main energy sources for its campuses, but details about fossil fuel investments are not “easily transparent,” Kaiser wrote.

As several universities take steps to neutralize emissions and divest from fossil fuels, TSG’s statement shows solidarity with the climate action movement and other universities that have divested.

“(This statement) is to show that students care about this and to show faculty, staff and administration that this is an issue that people are aware of,” Kotch said. “TSG is supposed to be representative of the student population, so I think this statement is for the administration to see that students really care.”