22 October 2014
TOTAL: 166 signatures
Academics and Alumni of UNSW to the Vice-Chancellor and University Council
The University of New South Wales continues to invest its endowment in the fossil fuel industry – an industry which continues to resist debate about alternative energy sources and criticises the established science of anthropogenic climate change.
We are already seeing destructive impacts of climate change, and the time to prevent potentially catastrophic scenarios in the future is rapidly running out. If we are to avoid an average increase in global mean temperature of 4˚C, we cannot afford to burn the 2,700 gigatons of carbon that the fossil fuel industry already has access to. If we are serious about limiting the impacts of climate change, society must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
Supporting further expansion of the fossil fuel industry is no longer an option for a progressive society focused on long term sustainability. We believe that as a highly regarded educational and social institution, UNSW can and must take a leading role in the move away from fossil fuel use toward a sustainable and equitable future. The University should commit to the divestment of any direct and externally managed shareholdings from the fossil fuel industry.
Climate science warns of dangerous change and the impacts are real
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank have warned that in the absence of scaled up action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global mean warming could be as high as 4˚C above pre-industrial temperatures by the end of this century. Warming on this scale would have significant impacts for many parts of society, including human health, infrastructure, and industry. Indeed, the IPCC’s most recent report has shown that the impacts of climate change are already being felt around the world – affecting both land and oceans. In recent years significant disruptions to crop yields have occurred; heatwaves have caused deaths on an unprecedented scale; and it has become apparent that changing environmental conditions are altering the composition and range of both terrestrial and ocean ecosystems. These and many other impacts are projected to only get worse if global mean temperature is allowed to rise further.
There are alternatives and they are rapidly gaining traction
There was a time when critics of action to address greenhouse gas pollution could happily argue that renewables would never cost effectively deliver the reliable energy our modern economies depend on. That time has passed. UNSW, the AEMO and BZE research have all shown the possibility and benefits of a 100% renewable energy grid in Australia. Power companies in the world’s major industrial economies like Germany are currently expressing regret for their decisions to expand fossil fuel generating capacity, and fear for the proliferation of solar technology which has lead Barclays to recently downgrade the entire US electricity sector.
Researchers at UNSW play a critical role in creating the renewable energy technologies that are rapidly reaching economic parity with, and indeed overtaking on a cost basis, traditional fossil fuel energy sources. We, like many analysts around the world, need to ensure that our commitment to sustainability is not just confined to research but is a core part of our business as a University. We must acknowledge the need for, and accelerating availability of, practical alternatives to old polluting fuels such as coal by shifting our investment funds.
The financial risk in holding to the status quo is considerable
Doing nothing is always an option, but the fossil fuel status quo will not last. The industry is facing the combined pressure of restrictive pollution regulation in response to science, competition from clean technology on cost and the fastest growing stigmatisation campaign in history. Researchers from universities, such as Oxford, and commercial analysts alike are warning of stranded fossil fuel assets and structural investment readjustments. It is no longer a matter of if, but when. The carbon bubble will burst and in this dramatic shift UNSW can prosper on the right side of history, or it can hold to the other and suffer the consequences.
There are already fund managers responsible for portfolios both smaller and significantly larger than UNSW’s who are shifting their assets in response to this reality, in Australia and around the world. Banks and super funds are following the lead of colleges and governments. Index institutions like MSCI and FTSI are helping by creating fossil free indices. They are in the minority for now, but these first movers are demonstrating the smart due diligence called for by the World Bank President. By screening for climate risk they are heeding advice from the likes of Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mercer, KPMG, the IEA, and The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. UNSW can lead the way in pragmatic screening of its investments for climate risk, both for simple self-interest and for the future of the communities that UNSW is involved in.
Divestment could deliver improved financial results as well as reduce risk
Modelling and investment results have shown similar or improved financial performance by ethical and fossil free funds. Looking only at Australia, “ethical funds that invest in Australian shares outperformed their mainstream counterparts by 3 percentage points” each year between 2002 and 2012 (SMH Money, 2013). Modelling by the Aperio Group showed that a ‘fossil free’ portfolio created by screening out the largest fossil fuel extractors from the ASX 200 “tracked the broad share market very closely, achieving very similar month to month returns to the ASX 200” (The Australia Institute, 2014). Internationally, “analysis of historical data shows that over the past seven years eliminating the fossil fuel sector from a global benchmark index would have actually had a small positive return effect” (IMPAX Asset Management, 2013).
Leadership is required both in research and in responsible management
In May this year, Stanford University committed to divesting its endowment of stock in coal-mining companies, and to considering similar commitments for other fuels. As the worldwide fossil fuel divestment movement continues to gain momentum, other major universities are sure to soon follow suit. We believe that UNSW should be among them.
UNSW is a leader in research; we can also be a leader in sustainability. UNSW’s funds may be held in external portfolios, but we ultimately decide where our endowment is invested and determine the mandate of our fund managers. It is our responsibility to ensure this endowment is invested ethically and sustainably in truth, not only in the wording of our investment policy.
We the undersigned – academics and alumni with knowledge of climate science and renewable energy, business, economics, ethics, health, engineering, society and biodiversity – sign this statement, as an act of conscience and fiscal responsibility, and ask our University to divest its direct and indirect holdings in fossil fuel corporations.
Signed:
Dr Gab Abramowitz
Senior Lecturer, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Ashish Agar
Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Prince of Wales Clinical School
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Meera Agar
Conjoint Associate Professor, South Western Sydney Clinical School
Faculty of Medicine
André Almeida
Research Assistant, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Professor Michael Archer
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Professor Michael Ashley
Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Jeremy Bailey
Associate Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Dr Jennifer Beer
UNSW Alumni
Dr Jonathon Beeves
Lecturer, School of Chemistry
Faculty of Science
Dr Zanny Begg
Lecturer, School of Art
Faculty of Art & Design
Chantel Benbow
Research Assistant, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Professor Jill Bennett
Associate Dean (Research)
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Simone Bignall
Vice Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Jose Bilboa
Researcher, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Ilse Blignault
Visiting Fellow, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Jonathan Bollen
Senior Lecturer, School of the Arts and Media
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Mark Braidwood
Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Stephen Bremner
Senior Lecturer, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Thomas Britz
Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Faculty of Science
Dr Matthew Broome
Research Fellow, Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Paul Brown
Honorary Associate Professor, Institute of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Science
Dr Anne Bunde-Birouste
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Michael Burton
Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Dr Magnolia Cardona-Morrell
Senior Research Fellow, Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, SWS Clinical School
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Rick Cavicchioli
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Manuel Chakravarty
School of Computer Science and Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Professor Enrico Coiera
Centre for Health Informatics
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Diana Combe
School of Mathematics and Statistics
Faculty of Science
Dr Richard Corkish
Senior Lecturer, School of Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Peta Cox
UNSW Alumni, Senior Research Officer at Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety
Associate Professor Jacquelyn Cranney
School of Psychology
Faculty of Science
Sonia Crozier
UNSW Alumni
Associate Professor Darren Curnoe
ARC Future Fellow, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Jacqueline Dalziell
Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Jan Maree Davis
Conjoint lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Richard Day AM
Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, St Vincent’s Clinical School
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Mark Diesendorf
Deputy Director, Institute of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Science
Dr Thom van Dooren
Senior Lecturer, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Christian Downie
Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Alistair Drake
Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences
UNSW Canberra
Professor Timothy Duty
ARC Chief Investigator, Engineered Quantum Systems
Faculty of Science
Dr Scott East
Lecturer
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Ben Elliston
School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications
Faculty of Engineering
Associate Professor Jason Evans
ARC Future Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Nadine Ezard
Dr Mehreen Faruqi
Senior Visiting Fellow, Institute of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Science
Dr Joanne Faulkner
Lecturer in Philosophy & Women’s and Gender Studies, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
Felicity Fenner
Director, UNSW Galleries
Faculty of Art & Design
Sally Fitzgerald
Lecturer, Muru Marri, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Louise Fowler-Smith
Director, Imaging the Land International Research Initiative, College of Fine Arts
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Juan Alvarez Gaitan
Research Associate, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Heather Gidding
Senior Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Alan Giddy
Director of Environmental Research Initiative for Art, College of Fine Arts
Faculty of Art & Design
John Gillies
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Ben Golder
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Law
Marcia Grand Ortega
Research Officer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Donna Green
Senior Lecturer, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Sarah Gregson
Senior Lecturer, School of Management
UNSW Business School
Dr Michalis Hadjikakou
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Glenda Halliday
Professor of Neuroscience & NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Chris Hamer
Visiting Associate Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Dr Ben Harris-Roxas
Deputy Director, Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Mary Ellen Harrod
Research Fellow, The Kirby Institute
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Melissa Haswell-Elkins
Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Lydia Hayward
Postdoctoral research associate, School of Psychology
Faculty of Science
Dr Stephen Healy
Senior Lecturer, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Sigi Jottkandt
Senior Lecturer, School of the Arts and Media
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Craig Johnson
Process Manager, Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Jules Kajtar
Research Associate, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Henner Kampwerth
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Research Fellow, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Matthew Kearnes
ARC Future Fellow & Convenor, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Mark Keevers
Researcher, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Professor David Keith
Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Joris Keizer
Research Fellow, Centre for Quantm Computation and Communication Technology
Faculty of Science
Dr Lindsay Kelley
Associate Lecturer
Faculty of Art & Design
Associate Professor Stuart Khan
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Professor Richard Kingsford
Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Eben Kirksey
DECRA Fellow and Senior Lecturer, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Andrew Kiss
Lecturer, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences
UNSW Canberra
Claudia Koch-McQuillan
Sessional Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Tassia Kolesnikow
Casual Lecturer, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Declan Kuch
Research Fellow
Faculty of Law
Shaun Kumar
School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Maggie Langtry
UNSW Alumni, Project Manager at Sustainable Advantage Group Australia
Lesley Lees
UNSW Alumni, Director at Sustainable Advantage Group Australia
Associate Professor Torsten Lehmann
Associate Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunication
Faculty of Engineering
Tanya Lippmann
Research Assistant, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Tim Luckett
Research Associate, South Western Sydney Clinical School
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Johannes Luetz
Lecturer Development Studies, School of Social Sciences; Institute of Environmental Studies Affiliate
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Simon Lumsden
Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Ian Macadam
Climate Science Coordinator, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Sarah J. MacLeod
Doctoral candidate, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Sarah Maddison
Australian Research Council Future Fellow, School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Aaron Magner
Director, UNSW Safety and Sustainability
UNSW Alumni
Dr Bradley Mathers
Research Fellow, The Kirby Institute
Faculty of Medicine
Miad Mazaheri
Doctoral candidate, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Justin McCann
Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Professor Dennis McDermott
Senior Conjoint Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Duncan McDuie-Ra
Associate Dean (Research), Associate Professor in Development Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor David McKnight
School of the Arts and Media
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor Katrin Meissner
ARC Future Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Melissa Merritt
Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor Adam Micolich
Associate Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Dr Bernhard Mitchell
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Professor Angela Moles
ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellow, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Associate Professor Scott Mooney
Faculty Presiding Member, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Professor Bronwen Morgan
Australian Research Council Future Fellow
Faculty of Law
Dr Stephen Morrell
Senior Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Judy Motion
Professor of Communication, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Professor Stephen Muecke
Professor of Ethnography, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Paul Munro
Lecturer, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor Andrew Murphie
School of the Arts and Media
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Judith O’Callaghan
Director of Postgraduate Research and Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture
Faculty of the Built Environment
Dr Paul Osmond
Director of Discipline, Built Environment Sustainable Development
Faculty of the Built Environment
Scientia Professor George Paxinos
School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Hal Pawson
Professor of Housing Research and Policy
Faculty of the Built Environment
Associate Professor James Philips
School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr John Porter
Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Professor Nicolas Rasmussen
Professor, Environmental Humanities
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Husna Razee
Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Helen Redmond
Conjoint Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Rebecca Reynolds
Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Camilla Ridoutt
Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Daniel Robinson
Senior Lecturer and Convenor of Masters of Environmental Management, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Adjunct Professor Deborah Rose
Adjunct Professor, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr David Roser
Senior Research Associate, Sustainability Assessment Program, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Peter Ross
Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Hazel Rowley
Senior Research Associate, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Peter Sainsbury
Visiting Professorial Fellow, City Futures Research Centre
Faculty of the Built Environment
Dr Suzanne Schibeci
Lecturer, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Alex Sen Gupta
Senior Lecturer, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Professor Steven Sherwood
Director, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Judith Schinabeck
Research Associate, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Krishna Shrestha
Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Professor Marie Sierra
Deputy Dean and Head of School
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Ben Silverstein
Honours Convenor & Lecturer
Nura Gili
Dr Colin Simpson
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences
UNSW Canberra
Claire Sives
Research Assistant, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr Peter Slezak
Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor Alistair Sproul
Associate Professor, School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Niamh Stephenson
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Emeritus Professor John Storey
Chief Officer, Scientific Comittee on Antarctic Research
Faculty of Science
Professor Iain Suthers
Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Peter Tait
UNSW Alumni
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Siranda Torvaldsen
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Professor Chris Turney
ARC Laureate Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Scientia Professor Ian Tyrell
School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Markos Valaris
Lecturer, School of Humanities and Languages
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Stephen Ward
Director of Industrial Design
Faculty of the Built Environment
Associate Professor David Warton
Australian Research Council Research Fellow, School of Mathematics and Statistics and the Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
Faculty of Science
Dr Haydn Washington
Visiting Fellow, Institute of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Science
Dr Eilean Watson
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Muriel Watt
Senior Lecturer, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Professor James Weirick
Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Urban Development and Design Program
Faculty of the Built Environment
Steve Weymouth
Lecturer, College of Fine Arts
Faculty of Art & Design
Dr Jeni Whalan
Lecturer, School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Associate Professor Tommy Wiedmann
Sustainability Assessment Program, Water Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Lisa Williams
Lecturer, School of Psychology
Faculty of Science
Professor Kenneth Williams
School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Associate Professor Wayne Wobcke
Associate Professor, School of Computer Science and Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Alex Wodak AM
Visiting Fellow, Kirby Institute
Faculty of Medicine
Dr Josh Wodak
Associate Lecturer
Faculty of Art & Design
Professor Joe Wolfe
Professor, School of Physics
Faculty of Science
Yichelle Zhang
Lecturer, School of Accounting
Australian School of Business, UNSW
Professor Anthony Zwi
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
