Gil Kemp ’72 with Swarthmore President Valerie Smith. Photo by Laurence Kesterson Gil Kemp ’72 graduated with honors from Swarthmore with a B.A. in sociology and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Author: From the archive
Prof. Tim Burke writes in his popular blog :
“Since Swarthmore seems likely to be stuck debating or struggling over divestment for at least another year or more, I remain interested in trying to push at the central weakness of the pro-divestment argument. The major argument of many divestment advocates is that divestment by higher education and other large civic organizations will cumulatively stigmatize fossil fuel producers within public culture.” … read more …
The word “divestment” is nowhere to be found in the nearly 200 pages of the papal encyclical released Thursday, but by addressing the threat of climate change in such a forceful way, Pope Francis is likely to add momentum to the movement by big institutions to sell holdings tied to fossil-fuel stocks.
The Church of England’s governing body has thrown its weight behind efforts to slow climate change by backing the move earlier this year to divest its resources from from companies involved in extracting two of the most polluting fossil fuels.
Divestment is the opposite of investment – it is the removal of your investment capital from stocks, bonds or funds. The global movement for fossil fuel divestment (sometimes also called disinvestment) is asking institutions to move their money out of oil, coal and gas companies for both moral and financial reasons.
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Moving Mountains
Marilyn Anthony writes in grid magazine: “Despite growing opposition and national trends Swarthmore College managers refuse to divest endowment from fossil fuels”… read more…
Norway’s decision to dump all coal-focused investments from its $900bn sovereign wealth fund could unleash a wave of divestment from other large funds, according to investment experts. The fund, the largest in the world, is one of the top 10 investors in the global coal industry.
Edinburgh, UK – In a big step forward for student campaigners, the University of Edinburgh announced today its intention to divest from coal and tar sands within the next six months. read more…
Swarthmore College will not drop fossil fuel stocks from its $1.9 billion endowment, the school’s board of managers announced on Saturday. The board engaged in “extensive preparation, analysis, and robust discussion and debate” leading up to the decision, Gil Kemp, its chairman, said in a statement.
Norway this month became an unlikely leader in a growing social movement: persuading investors to sell their stock in fossil fuel companies. In Norway’s case, its $890 billion pension fund – the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world – will begin divesting itself of its stakes in coal companies.