UTAM

With bold rhetoric, out of character for the normally dignified President of the University of Toronto, Meric Gertler recently laid into a number of universities in Canada, the US, and UK for “an utter failure to show the leadership that the climate crisis demands.”

The off the cuff remarks came in response to recent news reports announcing that McMaster University and the University of Michigan are moving forward with plans to divest from the fossil energy sector. President Gertler, the architect of the Investing to Address Climate Change charter for universities, could hardly disguise his disdain. “I mean what are they thinking? How can they expect to influence these fossil fuel companies to change their core business if they stop giving them money? It’s absurd.”

Michigan and McMaster join a growing list of universities choosing to divest, and President Gertler is very concerned that these new announcements will only encourage more misguided efforts at actually doing something about the climate crisis. “The long game combined with convoluted plans for adjusting investment strategy is the way to meet the climate crisis head on,” he explained; “We offer a path of real rhetorical leadership, where we pledge to talk about climate change as a serious problem and tell these fossil fuel companies that we’re concerned. They know we mean business.”

Darren Smith, the President and Chief Investment Officer of the University of Toronto Asset Management corporation (UTAM—no relation), concurred. After a brief moment of incredulity at the offending universities’ foolhardy divestment strategy (“Wait, these universities know where their money is invested, and they tell people?”), he concisely defined real climate leadership. “I have complete confidence that ESG investing principles that very few people understand and have very little demonstrable effect are the best way forward to slightly alter how some of our arms-length investment managers might think about maybe changing how they invest a portion of our funds if it gives a good return. That’s leadership plain and simple”

Reached for comment, an executive at a company with extensive tar sands holdings agreed that the University of Toronto’s path forward was the most prudent way to effect transformation in the fossil energy sector. He said pointedly, “The University of Toronto is one of our shareholders?”

All is not lost for the wayward universities that have chosen the path of divestment and action over boundless rhetorical leadership. The force behind the Investing to Address Climate Change charter, President Gertler, refuses to be vindictive: “If these universities come to their senses and start re-investing in the fossil energy sector, getting real money into the sector so that they can exercise some rhetoric…er influence, there’s a place for them in our leadership group.”

There may be a happy ending to this story after all.