As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the University of Chicago to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe such action on behalf of the University of Chicago will not only be a sound decision for our institution's financial portfolio, but also a clear statement and a concrete step for the well-being of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

Climate change is accelerating. In this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming: we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.

For the good of our students and our nation, and to preserve the quality of life for this and future generations worldwide, we call upon you to join the support a growing movement of schools around the country that are committed to preventing a more extreme climate by moving the University of Chicago's endowment beyond fossil fuels.  

Want to learn more before you sign? Check out the campaign FAQ (http://uchicagosfcc.weebly.com/divestment.html) or contact Nadia at perl@uchicago.edu or Will at wpol@uchicago.edu.