SINGAPORE: A coalition of students in Singapore has called on universities to transition away from the fossil fuel industry by 2030, as part of a report the group released on Monday detailing "extensive" links between the parties.
For NUS, this sum is"at least S$5.9 million" – a figure the report deduced from a statement given by NUS Investment Office in March 2019 that the university's indirect investment in fossil fuels made up a "low single digit" percentage of its total endowment fund which, as of 2021, stood at S$5.9 billion.
They added that divesting from fossil fuels will send a "clear social signal" that continued fossil-fuel reliance is "backward-looking", and companies that do so will be left behind.BOARD MEMBERS, SCHOLARSHIPS WITH FOSSIL FUEL LINKS The report also highlighted linkages in academia, where some scholarships and awards were funded by companies with links to the fossil fuel industry.
"These companies can thus capitalise on universities' reputations to improve their own brand image among university or public stakeholders who attend these events and use these spaces," the report said. "The withdrawal of such positive branding, and associated social legitimacy, may incentivise these companies to seriously reconsider their core operations."The report presented a set of recommendations for universities to address the fossil fuel industry’s"associations" with"professional development functions" of the universities.
Why their coalition matters: