Doing Better Than Divestment

Abstract

In the next several years we will see an increasing number of divestment campaigns spring up among student bodies nationwide. Given this trend, I believe it would be helpful to those interested in divestment at U.Va and other institutions to first examine the discussion that has followed the campaign so far. What is divestment? Is it well argued? Does it make economic sense? Should we divest? If so, what steps should we take? Frequent campaign failures indicate that the divestment argument needs some reworking. The ultimate objectives of this paper are 1) a new argument that elucidates more compelling incentives for U.Va to take action against fossil fuels and 2) a financially responsible reinvestment strategy that reflects the greater values of our university. Note to Reader I have searched endlessly for papers that condense the divestment conversation down to one, digestible text. The best works I have found are long, dense and perhaps not written for students who are generally interested in the subject. So I have dedicated some time to creating one that is. “Doing Better Than Divestment” is broken up into six parts, or six articles presenting six different arguments that ultimately contribute to the whole. I hope it helps.