PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A student group at University of Penn has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania attorney general, claiming the school is violating the law by continuing to invest in fossil fuels.
About 20 students from the group Fossil Free Penn rallied at the university Monday claiming they are violating state law because its endowment fails to uphold the school’s charitable mission by investing in oil and coal.
Last year, the university said it held no direct investments in fossil fuel companies. But Penn senior and Fossil Free Penn member Katie Francis says that’s not good enough.
“We appreciate the environmental action that the university has taken so far — but really, without full divestment and without cutting all ties to fossil fuels, it really is hollow,” Francis said.
Penn President Liz Magill said last year that the university no longer has direct holdings in fossil fuel companies, and it urges its outside endowment managers to consider climate change in its investments.
“We all share the same goal of a decarbonized economy,” read a November 2022 statement from Magill. “The significant role that fossil fuels play in today’s world, however, make policy decisions complex. We must move away from fossil fuels, but we can only do so completely once we can produce abundant, affordable, and secure energy from carbon-free sources.”
She noted this type of transition would “require trillions of dollars in new investments, major new policy developments, and significant technology advances.”
The university did, however, set a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions across the endowment by 2050.
Francis says the university has a legal responsibility to put its resources to socially beneficial causes.
“Investments of nonprofit institutions must be morally sound and uphold the charitable purposes of institutions.”
She says students at universities like Penn State, Tufts, Pomona, Washington University, and the University of Chicago took similar actions Monday.
Last fall, 17 students from Fossil Free Penn were arrested after a halftime demonstration at Penn’s homecoming football game.