NYU Divests From Fossil Fuels

• New York University joins other major universities like Syracuse University, Harvard University, and the California State University system in divesting endowments from fossil fuels.
• NYU has no direct ownership of public securities in fossil fuel companies, will avoid direct investment, and will seek investments in commingled funds to reduce indirect exposure to fossil fuels.
• The chair of the NYU Board of Trustees commended Sunrise Movement NYU's efforts over the years to pressure the university to divest from fossil fuels.

New York University (NYU) joined the nationwide sustainability movement to divest its endowment from fossil fuel corporations.

Sunrise Movement NYU, a student-led climate change organization chapter at NYU, last week announced via an email press release that the university divested its over $5 billion endowment from the fossil fuel industry.

The university board of trustees' investments committee told Sunrise Movement NYU that the university has committed to no new direct investments in the industry and to reducing all indirect exposure, according to the release.

"Without students demanding change, it's clear the fossil fuel industry will continue to sell out our future," Dylan Wahbe, hub director of Sunrise Movement NYU, said in the release. "Student organizing is about democracy, it's about ensuring that we have a seat at the table. NYU's decision to divest from the fossil fuel industry was the result of generations of students pushing for climate justice."

William R. Berkley, chair of the NYU Board of Trustees, in a letter to Sunrise NYU assured the student organization of the university's commitment and applauded its efforts over the years .

"New York University and Sunrise NYU both recognize climate change's threat to our community and the world, and we recognize and appreciate that the combustion of fossil fuels is a significant contributor to climate change," Berkley said.

"We believe that NYU must continue to play a role in environmental sustainability and we have taken tangible and impactful actions to reduce our carbon footprint and to address climate change."

According to Berkley, the university:

• Has no direct ownership of public securities in fossil fuel companies
• Commits to avoid direct investment in fossil fuel companies
• Will seek out investments in commingled funds to reduce indirect exposure to fossil fuel companies

"I'm proud of the dedicated group of students who pushed our university to become a leader in climate action," said Alicia Colomer, Sunrise Movement NYU's Divest NYU campaign director. "This victory demonstrates that organizing works and that together we can build a powerful movement to drive our institutions to be on the right side of history."

NYU joins other large universities like Syracuse University, Harvard University, and the California State University system to divest from fossil fuel companies. The next battleground for sustainability is targeting colleges' ties to the fossil fuel industry in research, BestColleges previously reported.

Students previously found over $500 million in fossil fuel funding at 27 universities in the last decade.