Lot's Wife Edition 2 2016

STUDENT
Fossil-free Monash
Fossil Free Monash - you’ve seen the stickers around and
wondered ‘what does that even mean?’ Well, it means
a Monash that doesn’t invest in fossil fuels. Did you know
that Monash has over $400m invested in various shares
and companies, of which part is in fossil fuels? Our purpose
is to sever the relationship between Monash, a university
that prides itself on being ‘green’, and the industry that is
most responsible for submerging Pacific islands, destroying
glaciers and ruining ecosystems.
Monash is currently creating an environmental, social
and governance (ESG) policy that will influence its investments
into the future. We met with them and they proposed
to us that they feel they can create better environmental
outcomes through engaging with fossil fuel companies rather
than divesting from them. Divestment is symbolic; it’s
about delegitimising the fossil fuel industry and removing
their social license to pollute. Monash cannot continue to
invest in fossil fuels when they are creating a systematic risk
to our future - we cannot change the system by individually
recycling or saving water, we need respected institutions
to be the change that we want so we can get the change we
need. We need leadership and brilliance - so far we’ve gotten
‘take the bus’.
Divestment has been deployed before, and to great
effect. In the 80’s there was a push led by students to
divest from South Africa to protest against apartheid. Over
10 years $350m of investment was withdrawn from the
country, with major institutions like Barclays Bank citing
the campaign as the reason they divested. The campaign
by Rhyss Wyllie
Illustration by Georgia Braun-Hutchison
even reached the U.S. Government, which enacted the
Comprehensive Anti Apartheid Act in 1986. That is what
divestment is about - it isn’t about the money, it’s about the
power. The power to say ‘we won’t be part of this system,
we won’t add legitimacy to it by participating in it, and
we won’t be quiet about the destruction it wreaks.’ Our
campaign at Monash is similar - their share of money in
fossil fuels globally is a drop in the ocean, but imagine the
pressure, the attention and the power that can be harnessed
if a prestigious university like Monash washed its hands of
fossil fuels?
We’ve built our campaign from the ground up - it’s a
grassroots movement based here, run by students and for
students. We have support from 350.org, a global climate
organisation, but everything we do is decided by us. We own
our campaign and we invite you to become part of that ownership.
We work with 4 other universities in Victoria, sharing
skills, networks and capacity. Universities all over the
world have divested, including Stanford, Syracuse, Glasgow
and Warwick University, Monash’s ‘strategic partner’. In
Australia, both the ANU and The University of Sydney have
made moves towards divestment, however neither has fully
divested. This semester, we are launching Flood the Campus,
a national campaign of 6 universities aimed at escalating
the fossil free movement in Australia. We’re partnering with
our friends at Fossil Free Melbourne University (FFMU) and
while we can’t give much away, we can guarantee it’s going
to be big, and you’re invited!
14 | Lot’s Wife