As of November 2018 the University of Pittsburgh has appx. a $4.2 billion endowment. Out of that $4.2 there is an undisclosed amount invested in fossil fuel industries. While the university refuses to disclose specific endowment information a recent Guardian article (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/08/us-universities-offshore-funds-endowments-fossil-fuels-paradise-papers) revealed that Pitt is invested in EnCap. Encap is an Energy Capital Fund IX-C, a Cayman Islands-based private equity firm which describes itself as “the leading provider of venture capital to independent oil and gas companies”

We’re running this campaign because the disastrous impacts of climate change are immediate, urgent, and will increase in severity if we don’t act now. Not only is there a consensus among scientists about the impacts of climate change, but the observable impacts are innumerable: record temperatures, extreme weather events, desertification, displacement of communities, and countless others. Natural disasters, which are intensified under climate change, already displace three times as many people as war.  Given the recent IPCC report it is clear that we are running out of time to act before the catastrophic results hit. Not only are fossil fuels leading to environmental disaster but they are also an unsustainable investment. 6.5% of global GDP goes to subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.  The US government and intelligence apparatus have recognized the threat posed to national and global security by climate change.  Climate change has been a part of the DNI's Worldwide Threat Assessment Briefing since 2008 and continues to be a contributing factor to unrest and tension around the world.
       .

Join us in asking to Board of Trustees to vote to divest our endowment from fossil fuels.

1) Immediately freeze all new endowment investments on Carbon Underground Top 200's list of the top 100 coal companies and top 100 oil and natural gas companies according to the size of their fossil fuel reserves.

2) Divest the endowment’s direct holding in the Top 200 within 3 years.

3) Divest and screen our endowment's direct holdings and commingled funds from the entire fossil fuel industry within 5 years.

4) Institutionalize a collaborative process between students, faculty, the administration, and the investment committee to address future divestment proposals and work to make sure the endowment is invested in a socially and economically responsible manner.The Fossil Free Pitt Coalition is a group of students, faculty, and community members demanding that the University of Pittsburgh.