We call on the University of Queensland to:

1. Immediately freeze new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and

2. Divest within five years from direct ownership of and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds, and

3. Achieve maximum transparency with regards to the university's share portfolio by listing all investments on a publicly accessible website.

We, the undersigned, acknowledge and applaud the important commitment that UQ is making to embedding sustainability across all aspects of learning, discovery, engagement and operations.

Nonetheless, UQ's 2013 financial statements list $117 million of UQ's assets invested either in a managed portfolio or directly in listed and unlisted shares; and it is reasonable to expect that a significant fraction of this is currently invested in fossil fuels.

It is now widely understood that we cannot safely burn even one third of the global fossil fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet. Already witnessing at a national level, the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently, it is morally inconsistent and financially risky to keep investing in the fossil fuel sector.

We therefore call upon you to join a fast-growing movement of students, universities and institutions around the world that have committed to act on climate change mitigation. Thank you for your support and for calling on the University of Queensland's Senate to show climate leadership and move its investment portfolio beyond fossil fuels.