In 2016, 14% of university and 5% of Further Education college governors were linked to the fossil fuel industry, with £18.7 million worth of university fossil fuel research taking place. The conflicts of interest here are clear, and so a day of action on the 22nd November, 2017, has been called by students at the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Leeds, Manchester and UCL...
We have received the following call out from student divestment groups at the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Leeds, Manchester and UCL:
"Following 3 years of student campaigning for fossil fuel divestment at the University of Manchester, where the institution has consistently ignored our efforts, we are ramping up the pressure and joining forces with other university campaigns around the UK, including Cambridge, Leeds, UCL and UEA.
We have all long been demanding that our institutions divest, but have been continually rejected despite massive support on our campuses. Now we're calling for a National Day of Action to escalate our divestment campaigns together: until we win!
Our universities are scared of bad reputations, which can strongly stem from media pressure. By uniting forces across the UK, we will amplify our different campaigns' messages and hit the national level forcing universities into divestment commitments.
The plan:
On the 22nd November, the week after the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, we are calling on any and all divestment groups to join us in taking a diversity of actions escalating our campaigns including marches, sit-ins, occupations and more.
On the day, we will unify around the colour of Fossil Free orange, and the slogan 'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, DIVEST!' to demand together that our universities take our popular calls for divestment seriously and put their own students' futures ahead of their vested interests in the fossil fuel industry which profits from climate crisis.
We are asking any divestment group to join the National Day of Action for Divestment by escalating their own campaign or taking action in solidarity with ongoing divestment campaigns if you have already won.
Email dayofaction@peopleandplanet.org to get involved and take action with us for divestment.
People & Planet, University of Manchester
Zero Carbon Cambridge
People & Planet, UEA
Leeds University Fossil Free
Fossil Free UCL."
Over a third of UK universities have now committed to divest from fossil fuels and the major role of Union officers and grassroots students groups working alongside one another to achieve this cannot be disputed. It would be amazing to see lots of Unions endorsing this day - working alongside students to open up dialogue with university managers, supporting escalations and challenging the conflicts of interest that exist across the sector.
We have a motion to get your Union to support the action here.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss supporting this day further.