Re: “Petition to dump oil shares goes beyond UVic borders,” Nov. 16.
According to Andrew Coward, treasurer of the University of Victoria Foundation, the primary reason UVic continues investing in fossil fuel companies is “financial responsibility.”
On the same day that Coward made his statement, the Norwegian Central Bank, which manages the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund (valued at more than $1 trillion), told its government that it should divest its shares in oil and gas companies, and on purely financial grounds.
According to the bank: “The return on oil and gas stocks has been significantly lower than in the broad equity market in periods of falling oil prices. Therefore, it is the bank’s assessment that the government’s wealth can be made less vulnerable to a permanent drop in oil prices if the fund is not invested in oil and gas stocks.”
So, who is correct? The managers of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund or those who oversee UVic’s much smaller endowment? I would give the edge to the Norwegian Central Bank. The rapid development of renewable energy, coupled with needed climate legislation that will force oil companies to leave their reserves in the ground, are two factors predicted to hammer an industry that is already on the economic ropes.
Fossil-fuel divestment is consistent with UVic’s sustainability commitments, while also being the financially prudent choice.
James K. Rowe
Associate professor of environmental studies
University of Victoria
