Lot's Wife Edition 6 2015

STUdENT AFFAIRS 21
Fossil Fuels:
Monash’s Dirty Habit
Fossil Free Monash is a group on campus
dedicated to ending Monash University’s
investments in fossil fuels. We believe
that as a leading university it is Monash’s
responsibility to lead the way in divesting
from fossil fuels.
BY LAUREN GoLdSMITH & RHYSS WYLLIE
Who are we?
We are a group of Monash students interested in making
Monash the first Australian university to fully divest from
fossil fuels. We range from undergrad to postgrad, from arts
to engineering and are always looking for new people to
join our crew. We’ve been around since first semester and
are already more than halfway to one of our goals of getting
2,000 student signatures supporting divestment. There is a
fossil free group at most Australian universities so we’ve got
a strong and friendly network to work with and bounce ideas
off. our belief is that it is hypocritical for Monash to talk of
‘greening up’ their act while still profiting from fossil fuels at
the expense of the environment.
Why fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels have been the building block of the modern
world’s development but cannot be part of our future if we
want a livable planet. There are currently enough fossil fuel
reserves on the books of the world’s major companies to
raise global temperatures by 6 degrees by the year 2100
which would be catastrophic for the economy, our society
and particularly those most disadvantaged. This would mean
our continent would be ravaged by more bushfires, heat
waves and drought, many other smaller, poorer islands would
be submerged and people’s livelihoods destroyed. Fossil
fuels are the greatest threat to the earth’s survival and are
part of a reckless attitude towards our use of the planet and
its resources. While fossil fuel companies reap the profits
of ruining the climate, we pay more in terms of preventable
diseases, natural disasters and crop failures. They’ve
privatized the profits and socialized the costs and they must
be delegitimized and stopped. As coal prices drop below half
of what they were 3 years ago it’s more important than ever
to dismantle this damaging and selfish industry.
What is divestment?
Monash has a $1.2 billion endowment fund which it invests
in many different industries including fossil fuels. The aim
of our campaign is to pressure Monash University to divest
from fossil fuels, which means taking its money out of the
industry. divestment as a tactic is not purely designed to
impact on the industry’s finances, but more importantly
is directed at delegitimising the fossil fuel industry and
removing their social license to pollute for free and destroy
the climate. The global divestment campaign against fossil
fuels has achieved some success, with more than $50
billion divested by over 200 institutions. When institutions
like universities, churches and cities say they will not profit
from the fossil fuel industry and their destructive practices
it sends a powerful message in support of climate action.
divestment has been used against the tobacco industry
and most famously against apartheid South Africa in the
1980s. The latter campaign began on college campuses and
in churches before being taken up by cities, foundations and
finally the U.S. Government in 1986 with the Comprehensive
Anti-Apartheid Act. The fossil fuel industry is immensely
powerful and divestment aims to chip away at their social
and economic power to allow for real, positive change
towards a livable planet.
If you’re interested in getting involved
or want to find out more then chuck
us a ‘like’ on facebook
or email enviro-msa@monash.edu
Lobbying and campaigning is not all we
do so stay tuned to the FB page for fun
events and opportunities throughout
the semester.
Lauren Goldsmith and Rhyss Wyllie are the
Environment and Social Justice officers
Illustration by Janet Zhu