La Trobe becomes the first Australian uni to FULLY DIVEST from fossil fuels! A message from Fossil Free La Trobe organiser Isobel Sfetcopoulos
We won!
After a two-and-a-half-year campaign, pressuring our Uni administration to act in line with the moral stakes of the climate crisis, the La Trobe Fossil Free team is celebrating a win.
La Trobe University has put itself on the right side of history in becoming the FIRST Australian uni to fully divest from coal, gas and oil companies.
In the past we’ve seen conservative politicians hit back hard against divestment decisions, and we don’t know what kind of pressure our Vice-Chancellor could be under right this minute.
Yesterday, Vice-Chancellor John Dewar met with the Fossil Free La Trobe University team to deliver the big news. On the decision, he said, “at La Trobe we believe economic profitability and environmental sustainability are not mutually exclusive.”
Since the announcement, we’ve garnered coverage from The Australian, The Guardian, New Matilda and The Bendigo Advertiser, with the encouraging message that “Today’s decision vindicates years of work to get the university to take a responsible attitude toward their investment portfolio.”
With this decision, La Trobe Uni attests to its being a thought leader and a well-respected sustainable pillar of our community. Specifically, La Trobe University Council has committed to:
divest within five years from direct ownership in and from any managed funds that include fossil fuel companies, and
commit to full disclosure of the carbon exposure of its investments and provide regular public reports of its progress.
This is the strongest stance a Vice-Chancellor in Australia has taken on this issue.
We call on all other Australian universities to do the same. We cannot continue ‘business as usual’: with our climate in crisis, divestment is a moral necessity. Fossil Free campaigns the world over are sending a powerful signal that we are rapidly and irreversibly moving away from yesterday’s polluting technology, fossil fuels.
We are revoking the social license of the fossil fuel industry: helping create political breathing room for meaningful leadership and legislation on climate.
Issy for Fossil Free La Trobe University
