Social Injury Tar Sands Fossil Fuels

7/29/2019 Social Injury Tar Sands Fossil Fuels

1/19

THESOCIALINJURYOFTARSANDSANDFOSSILFUELS

ByDivestMcGill

Summary

he students, alumni, faculty, and staff ofMcGill University havemade clear

their strongdesiretoseeresponsible investmentpractices astheycalledon

the University to divest its holdings in the Tar Sands, fossil fuel companies, and

financialinstitutionsthatgiveloanstothosecompanies.

The Tar Sands pollute the air and rivers of Northern Alberta, causing

irreparabledamagetothelandandtotheFirstNationscommunitiesthatliveoffof

it.

Global climate change threatens Canadians and peoples

theworldover.EntireneighbourhoodsofcitieslikeVancouver,

New York, and New Orleans could be underwater due to sea

level rise, and polar communities already face extraordinary

levelsofwarming.Cities likeMontreal andTorontowill

face more extreme weather events, including snow

storms and heat waves, and the continued burning of

fossil fuelsin particular oil from the Tar Sandswill

makerunawaywarmingunavoidable.

Thefossil fuelcompanies considered inthisbrief

actively engage in misinformation campaigns to discredit the rigorous scientific

consensusthatthreatenstheircontinuedprofits.

Financialinstitutionsprovidethecapitaltomakelargescaleprojectslikethe

TarSandsormountaintopremovalfeasible.

Itisclearthaturgentactionisneededtocounterthethreatofglobalclimate

change.TheMcGillcommunityhasspoken,andwecallontheBoardofGovernorsto

maketherightchoicefortheplanet,andtherightchoiceforus.

T

Companies which extract natural

resources without adequateenvironmental consideration are

underminingthestabilityofthevery

systems which we, and all life on

Earth,dependuponforsurvival.

-McGillStudent

By participating in the

exploitation of the

Canadian environment

and itspeoples,McGill is

makingdecisionsforallof

us.

-McGillStudent


2/19

TheTarSands:ALocalandGlobalConcern

heTarSandsarehugedepositsofbitumenamixofclay,water,sandandoil

that is turned into oil through complex and energy-intensive processes that

causewidespreadenvironmentaldamage.Small particlesof sand arecoatedwith

heavyoil,withathinlayerofwaterseparatingthetwo.Thesandandwatermustbe

separatedfromtheoil,producingfourtonsofsandforeverybarrelofoilextracted.

Anotherthreebarrelsofwatermustberemovedfromtheriverforeachbarrelofoil,

amassive quantity ofwater. The2010 Survey of Energy Resources describes the

reserves:

Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil are

characterised byhighviscosity, highdensity(lowAPIgravity),andhighconcentrationsof

nitrogen,oxygen,sulphur,andheavymetals.These characteristics result in higher costs

for extraction, transportation, and refining

thanareincurredwithconventionaloil.1

ThelargestdepositsofTarSandsintheworldarein

Canada. Unlike drilling for oil deposits and pumping oil

fromtheground,thetarsandsaretypicallyminedtogetat

thebitumenandrefineitintooil.

InAlberta,the excavation of the tar sands pollutes

the Athabasca River and fills the air with toxins. The tar

sands are found mainly underCanadas Boreal forest,2

requiring the forest to be clear-cut to allow the excavation of the bitumen. The

ecosystems of the North face incredible harm, and the companies promises of

rehabilitation and reclamation remain unfulfilled. In2008, only 0.2%of the land

disturbedbytarsandsminingwasdesignatedreclaimed,andeventheretheforestthe complex of forests and low-lyingwetlands has beentransformedinto adry,

1WorldEnergyCouncil.2010SurveyofEnergyResources(London:WorldEnergyCouncil,2010)

123.

2SierraClubCanada.TarSandsandtheBorealForest..

T

[F]ossil fuel production itself,

including in Canada, is

associated with negative social

impacts in the communities

nearby, such as higher than

average rates of homelessness,

substanceabuse,anddivorcein

Fort McMurray, close to the

Alberta tar sands. Not to

mentionthatnearbyindigenous

communitiesareno longerable

touse their traditional territory

as it has been taken over by

development, and are seeing

increasedratesof illnesses suchascancer,whichmaybedueto

their downstream locationfrom

theproject.

-McGillStudent


3/19

hilly uplandwith new trails for humanuse.The spokesperson of Syncrude, the

company that owns the reclaimed land, proudly said, If people arent looking

closely,itblendsintothenaturallandscape.3Over65,000hectaresofforesthave

beenlostalready,withlittlehopeofrecovery.4

The environmental, socialand health costsof the tar sands in Canada are

tremendousandmultilayered.

In any discussion of climate change, the Tar Sands are of the utmost

importance.EverybarrelofbitumenproducedfromtheTarSandsemitsthreetimes

asmuchgreenhousegasasconventionaloil.5Intotal,theTarSandsareexpectedto

emit108milliontonsofGHGsannuallyby2020,aboutonefifthofCanadasentire

carbonfootprint.6

Already,thisprojectemitsmorecarbonthanallofCanadascars,40milliontonsperyear.7Becauseofthetarsands,Canadasemissionshavegrown

moresince1990thananyotherG8nationatotalincreaseof24.1%between1990

and2008andCanadahasoneoftheworldshighestpercapitacarbonfootprints.8

FormerclimatescientistJamesHansenwroteintheNewYorkTimesthat,IfCanada

proceeds[withthisdevelopment],andwedonothing,itwillbegameoverforthe

climate.9 The Tar Sands are a project with extraordinary global impacts that

threatenrunawayclimatechange.

3Hildebrand,Joyce.ReclamationIllusionsinOilSandsCountry:LackofLegislation,Financial

Preparedness,UnderminereclamationEfforts

4Timoney,KevinP.andPeterLee.DoestheAlbertaTarSandsIndustryPollute?TheScientific

Evidence(TheOpenConservationBiologyJournal,2009,3)65-81.

.

5Nikiforuk,Andrew.TarSands:DirtyOilandtheFutureofaContinent.(Vancouver:Greystone,

2010)3.

6Schindler,David.TarSandsNeedSolidScience(Nature468,25Nov2010)499-501.

7Greenpeace.TarSands:LearnAbout.

8UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange.Reportoftheindividualreviewofthe

annualsubmissionofCanadasubmittedin201021April2011.

9Hansen,James.GameOverfortheClimate(NewYorkTimes,9May2012).


4/19

TheTarSandsalsohavemorelocalimpacts.FirstNations

communities in the tarsands area reportunusuallyhigh

levelsofrarecancersandautoimmunediseases,andfish

that live downstream of the development are often

malformed and inedible.10 The high concentration of

developmentinonewatershedresultsincorrespondingly

high levels of contaminants and heavy metals, and the

ecosystemislessabletoflushthemoutoftheregion.Indeed,a2009studyfounda

two to threefold increase in summer mercury levels in the river below the Tar

Sands, along with large increases in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, potent

atmosphericpollutants.Similarcontaminantswerepresentinsnowandice.11

Muchoftheexcesswaterfromtheproductionprocessendsupinhugetailing

ponds,whichkillbirdsthatlandinthemandaresuspectedofseepingchemicals

intogroundwater.12Thesepondscontainover720millioncubicmetresofwater,

covering over 130 million square kilometers of land. In the forty years of

development,notasingletailingpondhasbeencleanedenoughtobedesignatedas

reclaimed.13Environmentalgroupshavepresentedstrongevidenceoftailingpond

leakage, and oil companies have implicitly recognized the existence of the

problem.14Intotalasmanyas166millionbirdscouldbelostoverthenext30to50


11LiberalReportfromtheStudyoftheStandingCommitteeonEnvironmentandSustainable

DevelopmentontheImpactofOilSandsDevelopmentonCanadasFreshwater.TheHidden

Dimension:WaterandtheOilSands15-17.

.


13NewDemocraticReportontheStandingCommitteeReviewoftheImpactsofOilSandsDevelopmentsonWaterResources.MissinginAction:TheFederalGovernmentandtheProtection

ofWaterintheOilSands13.

14LiberalReportfromtheStudyoftheStandingCommitteeonEnvironmentandSustainable

DevelopmentontheImpactofOilSandsDevelopmentonCanadasFreshwater.TheHidden

Dimension:WaterandtheOilSands15..

As a leading educational and

research institution in Canada,

McGillhasaparticularresponsibility

to promote the development and

useofenvironmentallysoundenergy

alternatives,andtorespectthelandrights of indigenous peoples in

Quebec.

-McGillStudent


5/19

years due tohabitat lossandtailingponds.15 Furthermore,theeconomicbenefits

promisedtonativecommunitiesupnorthhavenotnecessarilymaterialized,andthe

developmentcomesatatremendoushumancost.ThePembinaInstitutehighlights

serioushealthconcerns,including,

A 30% increase in cancers in Fort Chipewyan compared withexpectedratesoverthelast12years.

Athree-foldincreaseinleukemiasandlymphomas.Aseven-foldincreaseinbileductcancers.Other cancers, such as soft tissue sarcomas and lung cancers inwomen,werealsoelevated. 16

The development of the Tar Sands threatens communities acrossAlberta,

pollutesthelocalenvironment,andcontributestoglobalclimatechange.

ClimateChange:AGlobalThreat

ccordingtotheBoardofAtmosphericSciencesandClimate,thearmwithinthe

American National Academies for atmospheric and climate sciences, The

preponderanceofthescientificevidencepointstohumanactivitiesespeciallythe

release of C02and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the

atmosphereas the most likely cause for most of the global warming that has

occurredoverthelast50yearsorso.17

ScientistsagreethatthehighestsafelevelofC02at350

parts per million; human emissions have now pushed the

levelofC02intheatmosphereto392ppm. 18

TheBASC further advises that, The faster emissions

are reduced, the lower the risks posed by climate change.

Delaysinreducingemissionscouldcommittheplanettoawiderangeofadverse

15Wells,JeffPh.D.DangerintheNursery:ImpactonBirdsofTarSandsOilDevelopmentinCanadasBorealForest(NationalResourcesDefenseCouncilReport,Dec2008)iv.

16Droitsch,DanielleandTerraSimieritsch.CanadianAboriginalIssueswithOilSands:A

CompilationofKeyIssues,ResolutionsandLegalIssues(ThePembinaInstitute:Sept2010)2.

17CommitteeonAmerica'sClimateChoices,NationalResourceCouncil.America'sClimateChoices.

Washington,D.C.:NationalAcademiesPress,2011.15.

18350.org.Science.2012..

A

Idonotwantmytuitionmoney

to be responsible for the

destructionofcommunitiesand

alsothecreationofthebiggest

environmentaldisasterthatwe

haveseen.

-McGillStudent


6/19

impacts..[and]therisksassociatedwithdoingbusinessasusualareamuchgreater

concernthantherisksassociatedwithengaginginstrongresponseefforts.19

Canada,throughitsinternationalagreementshasmadestrongcommitments

toagreenfuture.Inthe2010CancunagreementsoftheUnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange,Canadaaffirmed:

thatclimatechangeisoneofthegreatestchallengesofourtime. . .[and]thatdeepcutsinglobalgreenhousegasemissionsarerequired

according to science, and asdocumented in the Fourth AssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,withaview

toreducingglobalgreenhousegasemissionssoastoholdtheincrease

inglobalaveragetemperaturebelow2Cabovepreindustriallevels,andthatPartiesshouldtakeurgentactiontomeetthislong-termgoal,

consistentwithscienceandonthebasisofequity.20

Despite the scientific consensuswhich has been endorsed by every

National Academy of science of everymajor country on the planet, everymajor

professionalscientificsocietyrelatedtothestudyofglobalwarmingand98percent

ofclimatescientiststhroughout theworld,writesAlGore21anddespiteCanadas

strongpubliccommitments,ourcountryispushingforwardwithdevelopingtheTar

Sands,hasbarelyevenslowedtherateofgreenhousegasemissionsgrowthletalone

reducedemissions,andunderthecurrentgovernmenthaspulledoutoftheKyoto

Protocol.

Climate change raises global average temperatures. Every summer, new

temperaturerecordsaresetacrosstheglobe.MuchoftheSouthWestUnitedStates

saw unprecedented wildfires and droughts, while regions across the world face

extraordinaryfloodingandstorms.

Climatescientistsusedtosaythatglobalwarmingstacksthediceinfavourof

moreextremeweather:whatmighthaveusedtobeastormsolargethatitoccurred

19CommitteeonAmerica'sClimateChoices,NationalResourceCouncil.America'sClimateChoices.

Washington,D.C.:NationalAcademiesPress,2011.2.

20UnitedNations.FrameworkConventiononClimateChange.(UnitedNations,1992)2-3.

.

21Gore,Al."ClimateofDenial:CantheScienceandtheTruthWithstandtheMerchantsofPoison?"

RollingStoneJun201126.


7/19

onlyonceevery1,000yearsnowmighthappenevery500,ora100-yearfloodmight

insteadhappenevery60years.Nowtheysaythatweareaddingmoredotsonthe

dice:whereasbeforewemighthaverolleda12,nowwearerolling13sand14s.

Entire neighborhoods of many major cities are threatened by globalwarming.Vancouver,NewYork,NewOrleansandmanyotherNorthAmericancities

are soclose tosea levelthatprojectedsea levelincreasescouldputhugeswaths

underwater.21

Asthetemperaturerises,wecanexpectmoreandmoresevereimpacts.The

Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, inits 2007 report, discussed some

examplesofimpactsassociatedwithglobalaveragetemperaturechange.Appendix

1reproducesafiguredemonstratingsomeoftheimpactsofclimatechange.22

InNorthAmerica,thereportcontinues,23

Warming in western mountains isprojected to cause decreasedsnowpack,morewinterfloodingand

reducedsummerflows,exacerbating

competitionforover-allocatedwaterresources.

Intheearly decadesof the century,moderate climate change isprojected to increase aggregate

yieldsofrain-fedagricultureby5to20%,butwithimportant variability

amongregions.Major challenges are projected for cropsthat are nearthe

warmendoftheirsuitablerangeorwhichdependonhighlyutilisedwaterresources.

Cities that currently experience heat waves are expected to be furtherchallenged by an increased number, intensity and duration of heatwaves

duringthecourseofthecentury,withpotentialforadversehealthimpacts.

21Gore,Al."ClimateofDenial:CantheScienceandtheTruthWithstandtheMerchantsofPoison?"RollingStoneJun201126.

22IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange.SynthesisReport.NewYork:

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms3.html,2007.

23M.L.Parry,O.F.Canziani,J.P.Palutikof,P.J.vanderLindenandC.E.Hanson(eds).Contributionof

WorkingGroupIItotheFourthAssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimate

Change,2007.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2007.

If McGill truly ... has a vision of a sustainable

future, they should stop lending capital to

businesseswhosemodelisindirectconflictwith

thisvision.Thereisnosuchthingas"ethicaloil",

fossil fuels are in direct moral conflict with

humanity and McGill should stop funding its

operationsbyspendingawayourfuture. -McGillStudent


8/19

Coastal communities and habitatswill be increasingly stressedby climatechangeimpactsinteractingwithdevelopmentandpollution.

And for Canadians living in Polar Regions,the report discussessome

projectedregionalimpacts,24including

Themainprojectedbiophysicaleffectsarereductionsinthicknessandextentofglaciers, ice sheets and sea ice, and changes innaturalecosystemswithdetrimentaleffectsonmanyorganismsincludingmigratorybirds,mammals

andhigherpredators.

Forhuman communities in theArctic, impacts,particularlythose resultingfromchangingsnowandiceconditions,areprojectedtobemixed.

Detrimental impactswould include those on infrastructure andtraditionalindigenouswaysoflife.

Inbothpolar regions,specificecosystems andhabitatsareprojectedtobevulnerable,asclimaticbarrierstospeciesinvasionsarelowered.

It is clear that Canada faces clear and pressing challenges from climate

change.

FinancialInstitutions

heTarSandsaretheworldslargestcapitalproject,andthatinvestmentcomes

directlyfromfinancialinstitutions,endowments,andpensionfundstheworld

over. Similarly, deepwater oil rigs, new hydraulic fracturing installations, and

mountaintopremovalprojectsrequiretremendousamountsofstartupmoney,with

the necessary funding coming from investors. These financial institutions enable

everydayproductionandconsumptionof fossilfuels.Theparticipationof financial

institutionsinthelocalizedandglobaldestructioncausedbyfossilfuelscompanies

iswillfulandirresponsible,andtheyareequallyculpableforthedamagecausedby

thesepractices.

Undermining Science: The Fossil-Fuel Industrys Anti-Scientific

Propaganda

24M.L.Parry,O.F.Canziani,J.P.Palutikof,P.J.vanderLindenandC.E.Hanson(eds).Contributionof

WorkingGroupIItotheFourthAssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimate

Change,2007.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2007.

T


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uring the past two decades the fossil fuel

industryhasspentdozensofmillionsofdollars

to hire anti-scientific front groups to confuse the

public, influence media coverage, and bully

scientists.25 They have moreover spent millions to

keepthetwincrisesofclimatechangeandpeakoilout

ofthepoliticalsphere,andtosubverttheinfluenceof

science there and in public discourse.

In this section we argue that fossil fuel companies have for the past two

decades been spending billions of dollars contrary to McGills mission of the

advancementof learning intheworld.Theargument here is thatcompanieswho

fundtheregressionoflearning,whodistortscholarship(inpublicandacademia),

andwhoworktonullifyMcGillsservicetosocietyareaninappropriateinvestment.

Fossil fuel companies injure the hard work and careful scholarship of many of

McGills most prominent professors and prevent public understanding of broad

scientific consensus.

Tounderstandthefossilfuelstrategy,letusrecallthediscoverybyTobacco

companiesthatevenwithanairtightscientificconsensusthatsmokingislinkedto

cancer, they could skillfully create the impression of uncertainty and debate for

manydecades in the public sphere by funding phonyscience,using its immense

resourcestoexaggeratethedoubtandbesurethesedistortionswereinthehandsof

journalists, politicians, and educators.

Whenclimatechangefirstcameintothepublicsphereinthelate1980s,and

particularlyindebatesaroundtheKyotoprotocol,fossilfuelcompaniesstolefrom

the tobacco playbook: funding phony science, trumpet friendly research, slander

unfriendly findingsand the scientists behind them,hire shills,makesure all thisreaches media and political decision-makers. Their plan is extraordinarily well-

25Drum,Kevin.ClimateGate.30Nov2009.

D As an institution investedin improving the futurethrough education, McGill

has no business helping

Canada's energy solutions

and environmental policiesstay stagnant or regress in

areas that hurt the

environment.

-McGillStudent


10/19

documented thanks to a series of leaks and evidence from lawsuits.26

Many fossil fuel companies that McGill invests in were part of the GCC, a

groupusingtobaccoindustrytacticstofightKyoto.GCCinternaldocuments,likethe

tobacco industrybefore them, concedethat climatechangescience isundeniable,

yet externally, continued to express doubt.27

Whenit started to becomepublicthatfossilfuelcompanieswere funding

phony science, most companies pulled out of the GCC in 2002. Since then, only

ExxonMobilhascontinuedto,moreorlessopenly,fundclimatedenial.Thecompany

has spent 23 million dollars over the past decade funding all kinds of non-

climatologiststopublishtheiropinionsonthematter.28Theyalsoofferthousandsof

dollars to any scientist willing to write briefs against IPCC findings.29

Shareholderactionagainstthemin2006-7,aswellaspublicoutcry30caused

Exxon-Mobiltostopfundingthemostegregiousdeniers,yettheycontinuefunding

another few dozen such groups.3132

Because the other fossil fuel companies feared public wrath about their

fundingdenial,theyhavekeptanextremelylowprofile,quietlyhiringotherstoshill

for them. It is hard to come up with hard evidence of others, like Shell, directly

fundingdenial.Thatsaid,theyareopenlymembersandfundersofunabasheddenial

26NewYorkTimes.AdviserstoIndustryGroupWeighInonWarning.2007.

.

27Revkin,AndrewC.IndustryIgnoredItsScientistsonClimate.23Apr.2009.NewYorkTimes.

.

28UnionofConcernedScientists.Smoke,MirrorsandHotAir:HowExxonMobilUsesBigTobaccotoManufactureUncertaintyonClimateScience.Jan2007.Cambridge:UnionofConcernedScientists.

.

29Sample,Ian.ScientistsOfferedCashtoDisputeClimateStudy.2Feb2007.TheGuardian.

.

30ExposeExxon.ChangeExxonMobilfromtheInside..

31Sheppard,Kate.ExxonStillSponsoringDeniers.10Feb2010.MotherJones.

.

32Owen,JonathanandPaulBignell.Think-tanksTakeOilMoneyandUseIttoFundClimateDeniers:

ExxonMobilCashSupportingConcertedCampaigntoUndermineCaseforMan-MadeWarming.7

Feb2010.TheIndependent..


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groupssuchastheAPIandUSChamberofCommerce.33Theirfinancialmotivation

tofunddenialisundeniable,theyhaveshownthemselveswillingtogoagainsttheir

own scientists inthepast, and theyareopenly fundingdenial groups suchasthe

API, though admittedly toa lesser degree thanExxon-Mobil, who openly fundsa

broadarrayofgroups.34Itisextremelylikelyandalsodifficulttoprovethatthese

companiescontinuetofundclimatedenialtoday,becauseofthedonationstylethat

sometimes resembles money-laundering. Overall, these companies have proven

themselves to be promoters of scientific distortion rather than truth, and an

inappropriateinvestmentforauniversity.

IdentifyingtheInvestments

cGill Universitys investments in fossil fuels make up a relatively small

portionoftheendowmentfund,buttheglobalimpactofthosecompaniesthe

University invests in is extraordinary.TheDecember 2011 report on thePublicly

TradedEquityHoldingsoftheUniversity35isthemostrecentdataavailable,andall

discussionofthecompositionofMcGillsinvestmentscomesfromthatlist.

To identify specific corporations we used two lists. The first, from

theRainforestActionNetwork,36listscompaniesinvolvedintheCanadiantarsands;

thesecond,fromtheCarbonTrackerInitiative,37hasalistofthetop100companies

with the largest estimated carbon reserves in coal, and a list of the top 100

companieswithreservesinoilandgas.

33AmericanPetroliumInstitute.APIMemberCompanies.

.

34ExxonSecrets.Maps.Greenpeace..

35McGilliLeaked.2011/12PubliclyTradedEquityHoldings..

36RainforestActionNetwork.ListofTarSandsCompanies..

37TheCarbonTrackerInitiative.UnburnableCarbon:AretheWorldsFinancialMarketsCarryinga

CarbonBubble(Aug2012)..

M


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McGillinvestsin645publiclytradedcorporations.14areinvolvedinthetar

sands,while35numberamongtheworldslargestfossilfuelcorporations.In total,

thesetwolistsidentify37uniquecompaniesthatMcGillprofitsfrom,5.7%ofthe

Universitysuniqueholdings.Thenumberofsharesineachisnotpubliclyavailable

atthistime,andMcGillhasrefusedtoreleasefurtherinformationdespiteAccessto

Information requests filed under theAct respecting access to documents held by

publicbodiesANDtheprotectionofpersonalinformation.

The full list of companies identified, along with their carbon reserves if

available,canbefoundinAppendix2.

It should be made clear that this is an incomplete list of the fossil fuel

companiesthatMcGillinvestsin.Onlythelargestanddirtiestfossilfuelcompaniesare represented on these lists, and the schools endowment fund includes other

smallercorporations.

Of the 35 companies identified by the CTI,many

arecross-listedonallthreelists,meaningtheyhavesome

of the largest reserves of carbon in coal, and inoil and

gas,andtheyinvestinthedirtiestformofoilproduction

ontheplanet.TheCTIalsoexpresseditsconcernthatCanadianaccountingpractices

artificiallylowerthesizeofunconventionaloilreservesizeestimation,sincethey

are only reported under Canadian rules once production is believed to be

imminent.38Thusitislikelythatthesizeoftheactualreservesofcarbonownedby

the 12 firms involved in the tar sands forwhichan estimation ofreserve size is

availableissignificantlylargerthanexpressed.

Alltoldthese35companieshaveatleast205.455GigatonnesofCO2locked

awaybeneaththeearth.Thoseknownreservescompriseabout7%oftheglobes

knowncarbonreservesbutcompriseover36%ofourremainingcarbonbudgetfor

thenext38years.TheCarbonTrackerInitiativeestimatesthatonly886Gigatonnes

38TheCarbonTrackerInitiative.UnburnableCarbon:AretheWorldsFinancialMarketsCarryinga

CarbonBubble(Aug2012)12..

Let'sbebetter thanweare

today. Please divest from

theTarSandsandfromPlan

Nord;thesearenotwaysto

thefuturewewanttosee.

-McGillStudent


13/19

ofCO2canbeemittedfrom2000-2050ifhumanityhopestokeepwarmingbelow2

degreesCelsius.With321Gigatonnesalreadyburned,only565Gigatonnesremain

inour global carbon budget. Thus 80%of theworlds 2795 Gigatonne fossil fuel

reservesmustremainunderground.

None of these fossil fuel companies has pledged to keep 80% of their

reservesunburned,norwilltheyaslongasitisprofitableforthem.

Thequestiontheniswhattodoaboutthisproblem.Theresponsibleanswer

isdivestment.

Conclusion:MovingForward

ime is of the essence for humans.We need immediate action to keep this

planet livable, and McGill University is in a position to act. Climate change

threatens the Canadian people. Given the urgency of climate change, the

students,faculty,staff,andalumniofMcGillUniversitydemand:

ThattheInvestmentCommitteebeinstructedtoimmediatelydispose,inanorderlyandresponsiblefashion,oftheUniversitysholdingsincorporations

whichdeveloptheCanadiantarsands,transportorrefinehydrocarbonfrom

the Canadian tar sands, sell products of the Canadian tar sands, or are

otherwiseinvolvedintheproduction,distributionorsaleofgoodsfromthe

Canadiantarsands,asdeterminedbytheCommitteetoAdviseonMattersof

SocialResponsibility.

ThattheInvestmentCommitteebeinstructedtodispose,inanorderlyandresponsiblefashioninnolongerthanthreeyears,oftheUniversitysholdings

in corporations which produce, refine, transport, or sell fossil fuels, as

determinedbytheCommitteetoAdviseonMattersofSocialResponsibility.

ThattheInvestmentCommitteebeinstructedtodispose,inanorderlyandresponsiblefashioninnolongerthanthreeyears,oftheUniversitysholdings

in financial institutions which have not adopted, as determined by the

CommitteetoAdviseonMattersofSocialResponsibility,apolicyofmaking

T


14/19

nofurtherloanstocorporationsthatproduce,refine,transport,orsellfossil

fuels.


15/19

Appendix1:Examplesofimpactsassociatedwithglobalaveragetemperature

change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)39

39IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange.SynthesisReport.NewYork:

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms3.html,2007.


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Appendix2:McGillUniversitysinvestmentsinfossilfuelcompanies,and the

sizeoftheirestimatedcarbonreserves

THE ESTIMATED CARBON RESERVES OF 35 OF THE FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES

MCGILLINVESTSIN.

Companies Coal(GtC02) Oil(Gtc02) Gas(GtC02) Total(GtC02

AGLEnergy 0.89 0.89

AngloAmerican 16.75 16.75

ArcelorMittal 0.62 0.62

BaytexEnergyCorp* 0.3 0.3

BGGroup 2.29 0.48 2.77

BHPBilliton 16.07 1.82 0.2 18.09

BonavistaEnergyCorp 0.18 0.03 0.21

BP* 32.68 1.92 34.6

CairnEnergy 0.35 0.35

CanadianNaturalResources* 4.23 0.14 4.37

CenovusEnergyInc* 1.4 0.006 1.406


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Chevron* 20.11 1.11 21.22

CrescentPointEnergyCorp. 0.47 0 0.47

EnCanaCorp.* 0.24 0.47 0.71

EOGResources 0.97 0.38 1.35

ExxonMobil* 38.14 2.89 41.03

GDFSuezS.A. 0.17 0.05 0.22

InpexCorp 2.44 0.1 2.54

ItochuCorp 0.34 0.34

MitsubishiCorp 4.31 4.31

Mitsui 1.03 1.03

Nexen* 1.4 0.002 1.402

OilSearchLTD 0.91 0.91

OMV 1.02 0.06 1.08

RepsolYPFS.A. 2.75 0.29 3.04

RioTinto 5.23 5.23


18/19

RoyalDutchShell* 14.11 2.09 16.2

RWEAG 1.94 1.94

SantosLimited 0.19 0.17 0.36

StatoilASA* 2.23 0.25 2.48

SuncorEnergy* 3.74 0.007 3.747

TalismanEnergyInc. 1.47 0.19 1.66

TullowOil 0.36 0.01 0.37

Wesfarmers 1.86 1.86

Xstrata 11.6 11.6

Coal Oil Gas Total

Total 60.64 133.97 10.845 205.455

*Alsoinvestsinthetarsands;duetoCanadianaccountingpractices,theestimated

carbonreservesforcompaniesthatexploitthetarsandsarelikelyhigherthanthe

publiclyavailabledata.


19/19

COMPANIESINVOLVEDINTHETARSANDS**

Baytex

BP

CanadianNaturalResources

CenovusEnergy

Chevron

Enbridge

Encana

Exxon

ImperialOil

Nexen

RoyalDutchShellCompany

StatoilASA

SuncorEnergy

TranscanadaCorps

**Anestimateofthesizeofcarbonreservesisavailableforeachcompanyinbold.

Date post:	04-Apr-2018
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Social Injury Tar Sands Fossil Fuels

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