Jesuit university becomes first WA school to fully divest from fossil fuel industry

Seattle University became Washington state’s first college to withdraw all of its fossil fuel investments on June 30 as part of its ongoing efforts to combat climate change.

This decision also made SU the first Jesuit school in the nation to divest entirely from fossil fuels. 

“Though the university is at the end of the five-year divestment process, it is just one part of Seattle University’s ongoing efforts toward building a sustainable community that supports human and ecological health, social justice and economic well-being through Socially Responsible Investing,” the school wrote in a recent press release.

[RELATED: American University caves to environmentalist students’ demands]

In 2018, the university announced a five-year divestment plan and estimated that $13.6 million of its $230 million endowment had “exposure to securities of fossil-fuel companies, as defined by ownership of fossil-fuel reserves,” according to The Seattle Times. 

SU President Eduardo Peñalver said that he is “proud” of the university’s efforts in pulling investments from fossil fuels. 

“It’s all too tempting to become pessimistic about climate change,” Peñalver said. “But, as a Jesuit university, we are called to accompany our students toward a hope-filled future and to take actions to help bring that future into being.” 

By April 2020, SU reached a 50% reduction in investments of fossil fuel companies, ahead of its initial end-of-year goal. 

“The decision to divest is like the decision to implement social distancing in response to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Director of Environmental Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering Wes Lauert. “Both are values-driven responses to a global challenge whose magnitude we understand through science.”

[RELATED: Columbia University joins Ivy League opposition to fossil fuels]

SU students began to push for divestments from fossil fuels as early as 2012. 

In 2017, students from Sustainable Student Action wrote a letter to then university president Stephen Sundborg calling for his support to divest from fossil fuels following the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. 

“This moment calls us to step bravely into the forefront of the movement to transition away from fossil fuels and reject the climate denialism and fossil fuel industry power over the fate of the world,” 

Campus Reform has reached out to all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.