The University of Hawaii has vowed to break away from fossil fuels as the Board of Regents voted Thursday to stop investing in oil, gas and coal producers.
The regents voted to divest the university’s $66 million endowment from fossil fuel-producing companies. UH set a three-year timeline to divest, joining 30 other universities that have voted to stop funding nonrenewable energy sources.
"Selling a fossil fuel company is really a message," said regents Chair Randolph Moore.
The Board of Regents approved a task group called Divest UH in January to investigate divesting from fossil fuels. The group included students, faculty and members from the board.
The long-term environmental impact and projected value of the companies won the board’s vote, Moore said.
"If we need to reduce our footprint to prevent humanity from significant damage, we shouldn’t invest in companies that continue to benefit from (carbon dioxide). We shouldn’t bet against ourselves," Moore said. "The value of the companies is overstated. Fossil fuel companies are generally bad investments as they are based on an asset they have that they will never be able to capitalize on — those not yet cultivated reserves."
In December, energy companies made up 5 percent to 7 percent of the university’s $66 million endowment fund.
The regents’ collaboration with the grass-roots Divest UH campaign was unique "compared to more than a dozen campaigns I have been a part of," said Doorae Shin, student sustainability coordinator at UH.
"It took an unconventional group of people. There is a community organizing, the faculty supporting and the Board of Regents integrating and being a part of it. (The board) took it and ran with it and became champions of the issue."
The divestment is a statement but it’s not the solution, Moore said.
"Selling those fossil fuels’ company stock doesn’t stop anybody from putting gas in their car," Moore said. "Those behaviors need to change before the benefit can occur. We as the whole state need to say what do we need to do, what can we do to reduce our production of greenhouse gases."
The decision made by UH gives the state a model to consider, said state Rep. Chris Lee (D, Kailua-Waimanalo).
"We wanted to start the conversation for divesting our resources from fossil fuels," Lee said. "UH does provide one model and that is something we will certainly be taking into account next year."
In January about 3 percent of the State of Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System’s pension fund, which exceeds $14 billion, was invested in fossil fuels.
"The state has a significant investment," Lee said. "We began asking questions in January to see what long-term risk continuing to invest in fossil fuels might present, considering the state is already spending millions every year to protect eroding beaches and save our fresh water from climate impacts exacerbated by fossil fuels."
