I believe that moving away from fossil-fuel dependency is a crucial issue of our time. For that reason, I support the aims of our students who for the past few years have been increasingly calling for fossil-fuel divestment by UC Regents. Fossil fuels cannot remain a prominent part of our collective future.
This call for divestment extends beyond our students. The sustainability movement at UC Santa Cruz is an impressive collaboration that includes staff and faculty as well. It has long been that way. Dozens of faculty members signed the UC Faculty Open Letter to the Regents about fossil-fuel divestment back in 2015, calling on Regents to freeze new investments in fossil fuel companies with the largest carbon reserves, to quickly develop a divestment plan, and to instead invest in climate solutions.
The campus community's resolve has only increased since then.
Yes, UC has made great strides toward tackling climate change, but I believe we should strive to do more. I would support a thorough and transparent discussion among my fellow chancellors on this topic as well as engagement and investment in broader climate solutions. It is a moral, political, economic, and scientific imperative that we move away from fossil-fuel dependency.
