ANN ARBOR, MI — The Association of Big Ten Students (ABTS) passed a resolution Saturday, Jan. 25 calling for all Big Ten institutions to stop investing in the fossil fuel industry.

University of Michigan students government representatives sponsored the resolution, which marked the first instance in which students of a collegiate conference collectively demanded fossil fuel divestment from their institutions, according to the Climate Action Movement.

“If the vote calling for a freeze from fossil fuels on behalf of the student body presidents at every Big Ten institution passes unanimously, but none of the universities representing those students has a formal freeze, there is something wrong,” said Solomon Medintz, a member of the Climate Action Movement at UM, a group of students, staff, faculty and alumni who advocate for sustainability measures.

“We need to make sure our institutions are more reflecting of our values.”

In the past, UM divested from South Africa in 1978 and the tobacco industry in 2000. In 2015, UM’s Central Student Government approved a resolution to create an ad hoc committee to investigate endowment investments in the fossil fuel industry.

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“Looking at the University of Michigan and their investments, divesting from fossil fuel fell is in line with how they have acted historically,” said Ben Gerstein, president of Central Student Government at UM.

The vote comes after divestment measures at the University of California and a “pause” in fossil fuel investment at Harvard.

The resolution asserts that 100 companies have emitted more than 70% of the world’s carbon and that investing in the fossil fuel industry “exacerbates climate injustice.” It also argues that Big 10 institutions who have committed to carbon neutrality — 11 of 14 schools — cannot truly be carbon neutral while investing billions in the fossil fuel industry.

“The bill was written to give each Big Ten student government some leeway with which they approach their administrations about this,” Gerstein said. “I wanted to make sure every president could act in a way that was conducive to their environment.”

The Association of Big Ten Students is asking universities to freeze future fossil fuel investments and then develop a timeline for divestment “as quickly as possible.” Medintz said he believes the UM Board of Regents will create an ad hoc committee to discuss fossil fuel divestment, but they must act quickly.

“The university should recognize the broader implications of what the climate crisis shows: That an endowment whose sole purpose is to make a profit without any consideration for the social implication of those investments makes no sense,” Medintz said. “So, when the university does divest, it should acknowledge that it’s divesting because investing in the fossil fuel industry is wrong and it has a responsibility as a public institution to invest for the public good.”

Moving forward, Gerstein said Big Ten student governments will help each other to develop collaboration between students and university administrations.

“I hope this is just another document that shows students are committed to working with the University of Michigan and their administrations,” Gerstein said. “Any path toward divestments and an initial freeze on fossil fuel investments must come as a collaboration between students and administrations.”

A message seeking comment on the call for divestment was left with the university’s public affairs office.

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