"Kwenzekani?" Ebuzwa author and activist Naomi Klein in a recent piece penned for the Guardian. “Are fossil fuel companies – long toxic to our natural environment – becoming toxic in the public relations environment as well? It seems so.”
As fossil fuel divestment victories pile up this fall, from universities to cities to corporate campaigns, advocates say this growing global effort is proving a viable strategy for taking on the powerful industry driving global warming.
The metropolitan area of Örebro waba the first in Sweden last week to commit to removing its funds from fossil fuel. However, they are not the first in the world: 30 other local authorities have made similar pledges, from San Francisco in the United States to Boxtel in the Netherlands. “Cities serious about sustainability need to follow Örebro’s example. You cannot talk about sustainability while funding an industry that is causing climate wreckage,” said Olivia Linander, 350.org Divestment Organiser for Sweden.
Earlier this month, the University of Glasgow in Scotland became the kuqala educational institution in Europe to vote in favor of divesting its endowment—which is in the millions of dollars—from the fossil fuel industry.
And after a sustained pressure campaign from Greenpeace, Lego kumemezela earlier this month it will not renew its contract with Shell. “It’s a huge blow to Shell’s strategy of partnering with beloved brands to mask its plans to drill in the Arctic,” Greenpeace activist Fran Grobke declared immediately following Lego’s announcement.
These latest victories follow other significant ones. Thirteen U.S. universities, including Stanford University, as well as the World Council of Churches and the British Medical Association are just a few of the institutions that have committed to divest. Meanwhile, campus communities are leading divestment campaigns at universities across the world, from South Africa to Germany.
Klein writes:
Ngaso sonke isikhathi lapho isikhungo esisha noma uhlobo olusha lunquma ukunqamula ubuhlobo baso, ngaso sonke isikhathi lapho impikiswano yokuhlukaniswa kwemali yenziwa esidlangalaleni, iqinisa umqondo wokuthi inzuzo kaphethiloli wezinsalela ezingekho emthethweni ayikho emthethweni - ukuthi "lezi izimboni manje ezikhohlakele", ngamazwi ombhali uBill McKibben. Futhi yilokhu kungabi namthetho okunamandla okunqamula ukusimama kwesenzo esiphusile sezulu. Ngoba uma lezo zinzuzo zingekho emthethweni, futhi le mboni ikhohlakele, isisondeza esimisweni ebesishoda kakhulu ekuphenduleni kwesimo sezulu esiqoqekile kuze kube manje: umngcolisi uyakhokha.
And as Franlin Ginn uthi ku Isazi sezinto eziphilayo:
The divestment movement confronts the core logic – licence, extract, profit – of fossil fuel companies. One key tactic to make it harder for them to extract carbon is to erode their political legitimacy.
Fossil fuel companies use their economic clout to tshala ukungabaza ngesayensi yesimo sezulu. They lobby for generous subsidies and flout amalungelo omdabu.
They commission toys futhi sponsor art at the Tate, the British Museum, theRoyal Shakespeare Company and other cultural institutions to normalise the presence of big oil in our everyday lives.
By divesting, organisations such as the UMkhandlu WamaSonto Wezwe send a strong message: we find your activities immoral.
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