The fossil fuel industry has many times the amount coal, oil and gas needed to push our climate past the two degrees of warming that the world’s governments have agreed to as the precipice.

Financially, continued investment in companies that extract fossil fuels represents a significant risk to UNSW as these companies will face large devaluations when the world moves to lower emission energy sources.

The fossil fuel industry is also known to support campaigns designed to discredit climate science and delay the shift to renewable energy in the effort to address anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a public leader in these fields it is embarrassing that we continue to support these activities.

UNSW already leads the way in encouraging and enabling a sustainable future for our society through research and education. A commitment to divest from fossil fuels is an effective way for UNSW to show further leadership. This move would lower the university’s financial risk while also generating positive publicity and increasing support for The University of New South Wales.

We’re calling on UNSW to divest from fossil fuels and commit to a sustainable future.