UBC staff recommend against fossil fuel divestment

On Wednesday, the University of British Columbia board of governors finance committee will vote on a staff proposal to keep investing in the fossil fuel industry.
Students and faculty members held votes last year to push the university to stop investing money from its $1.46-billion endowment fund in fossil fuels. About $85 million of that is invested in the energy sector, UBC’s public affairs said Monday.
Divestment in fossil fuel investments is a hot topic at university campuses throughout North America and the UK, with some, such as the University of Calgary, ruling it out, and others, such as the University of Glasgow, becoming the first to divest in Europe.
Opponents of divestment argue that resource-sector jobs could suffer and students will pay higher tuition fees because the return on investment will not be as high in a portfolio that doesn’t include oil and gas assets. Proponents argue that divestment is the right thing to do to lessen society’s dependence on oil and gas consumption, and say studies show that returns can be as good or better in a divested portfolio.
The staff recommendation against divestment was posted on a committee agenda on Monday morning, but that space on the agenda was later replaced with the words, “documentation to be circulated.”
Neither the UBC board of governors nor its finance committee has met with students or faculty to discuss divestment of fossil fuel investments, said Alex Hemingway, a UBC PhD candidate and Divest UBC campaigner. Divest UBC also asked interim president Martha Piper to discuss the issue, but she didn’t respond, he said.
At the University of Toronto, a committee, struck by the university’s president, recommended in December that the university should divest “in a targeted and principled manner” from investments in companies that “blatantly disregard” certain climate change targets.
Hemingway said UBC’s process has been “dramatically different.
“In Toronto, the university convened a large and diverse committee to consider the question of divestment. The committee represented a wide range of relevant experts and held consultations with stakeholders,” Hemingway said. “At UBC, the Responsible Investment Policy Committee refused our repeated requests to meet or discuss the proposal for divestment during its deliberations.”
Divestment was discussed in emails released as part of freedom of information requests into former president Arvind Gupta’s departure. In one set of emails, dated Feb. 23, 2015, a group including Montalbano, Gupta, board member Alice Faberge, board member Greg Peet, and board secretary Reny Kahlon discusses the University of Calgary’s decision not to divest.
Montalbano writes, “I credit U of C with just coming out and declaring they won’t divest.”
Gupta’s reply is blacked out for reasons of personal privacy.
To Gupta’s reply, Peet replies, “And were the provincial government to then to suggest …
Do that and we will not provide you with any government funding that is derived from fossil fuels (which would — of course — be the majority of it). [Consistent with proponents principal argument] I wonder if that conversation has already occurred?”
To that, Montalbano replies, “I actually believe that would be the response … it should be in fact.”
Hemingway wasn’t impressed with those and other exchanges in the emails.
“I would say it’s been concerning to see that top administrators already appeared to be against divestment, before the committee to examine it had even met,” Hemingway said in an email. “Some of the messages also reflected a very weak understanding of the substance of the issue, and in at least one message carried a tone of real condescension towards divestment proponents.”
Whether the committee approves the recommendation or not, the full board would still have the chance to vote on the proposal.
Sun Education Reporter
tsherlock@vancouversun.com

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