Dive Brief:
- The University of Maine System Board of Trustees has voted to sell off all of its direct holdings in coal companies.
- The decision is the first time a public land grant institution or university system has voted for fossil fuel divestment, according to WPBN News.
- The Divest UMaine Coalition — a group of students, faculty, staff, and alumni — has been lobbying the Maine system to divest for two years.
Dive Insight:
This is the latest in a string of fossil fuel divestitures and campus divestiture movements. The first college in the country to divest from all fossil fuel investments was Unity College, located in Unity, ME. One of the arguments of Divest UMaine Coalition was that divestiture made good financial sense, considering that stricter carbon emissions standards are driving down the net worth of the coal industry. The Maine system’s new coal policy is modeled after Stanford University’s. The University of Maine-Presque Isle has completely divested from fossil fuel assets as of November.