Tell NUS to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Join us in asking NUS to divest 100% of its endowment from fossil fuel companies by 2024.

As NUS students concerned about the wellbeing of the environment and the threats of climate change, we encourage NUS to live up to its mission as a university committed to "solutions for a prosperous and sustainable future for Singapore and the world" (1).

Divestment involves withdrawing investments in unethical companies, and reinvesting in socially and ecologically responsible enterprises (2). As President Tan Eng Chye points out, “sustainability is a core value at NUS” (3) and this value should be evident in our actions and practices as an institution. Climate change poses immense and imminent risk to populations all over the world, including Singapore, with rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, threats to water and food security, hazards to public health with disease and heat stress, and threats to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity (4). Divestment from fossil fuels means taking a stand against corporations responsible for perpetuating climate change, and sending a clear message that NUS will no longer be complicit in environmental destruction. Globally, 988 institutions have divested from fossil fuels, including 150 educational institutions (5). It is time for NUS to be the 989th institution.

Climate change is terrifying and uncertain, but we believe that it also gives us an opportunity to re-evaluate, innovate and dramatically improve the world that we live in. We want to see a Singapore that is truly committed to being clean and green. A Singapore that is ready to become a climate change pioneer. A Singapore where people can “pursue their dreams without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same” (6). Hence, we call on NUS to be the first university in Singapore to divest from fossil fuels, and to reinvest its endowment in more ethical industries that allow for the protection of the natural environment for generations to come.