NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, November 18, 2019

By René Bruemmer

Concordia University is pledging to withdraw all its investments in the coal, oil and gas industries within five years, making it only the third university in Canada to divest from the fossil fuel sector.

At the same time, the university’s foundation announced it will be the first in Quebec to set a goal of putting all its funds into “sustainable investments” by 2025.

“What we’re looking at going forward is investing in enterprises who work in the areas of green energy, green technology, food security, water security,” Graham Carr, interim president of Concordia University, said Friday. “Promoting sustainability and fighting climate change are priorities for the Concordia community.”

The Concordia University Foundation, the school’s primary investment body, has $14 million of its $243 million in assets invested in coal, oil and gas interests, accounting for 5.7 per cent of its holdings. The university has been moving away from fossil fuel investment since 2014, when it created a sustainable investment fund, becoming the first post-secondary institution in Canada to start divesting from coal, oil and gas.

Photo courtesy of Samuel Auguste.