“As the UC is a leader in climate research and sustainability efforts, it would only follow suit that we are leaders in this movement. The UC and its Regents will be seen as the brave pioneers prepared to divest the first large public university from fossil fuels. It will be difficult, but we can do it; we have the precedent of divestment [from South Africa], we have the framework in place. . . . The only thing we lack is your willingness.”
—Ronin Souza, student, meeting of the University of California Board of Regents, May 2013
In 2012, student activists launched Fossil Free UC, a campaign calling on the University of California to divest from fossil fuel companies and extractive industries. A broad coalition of students, faculty, and staff organized rallies, teach-ins, and climate strikes to demand ethical investment. Though the regents declared the university system “fossil free” in 2020, investigations revealed continued holdings in oil and gas. Student-led movements such as the UC Green New Deal Coalition (UCGNDC) remain critical of greenwashing—the practice of making false or misleading claims about environmental sustainability—and continue to push for transparency, full divestment, and reinvestment in climate justice.
Transcription:
DIVEST FROM
climate change
mass extinction
dirty energy
cognitive dissonance
corrupt government
333rd month of above average temperatures
sea level rise
sandy
children with asthma
the niger delta
colorado fires
cancer alley
FOSSIL FUELS
Date: undated
Attribution: Graphic, undated, UC Fossil Free Archive, UArch 139, Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.