CAMPAIGN TIMELINE
The campaign for divestment from fossil fuels at Princeton began in 2013, inspired by the decision to divest from companies operating in Darfur and the long campaign for divestment from companies supporting apartheid in South Africa. While the partial divestment/partial dissociation announcement is a major step forward, Princeton is not yet fossil free so we are continuing the fight to ensure that Princeton is no longer complicit in the climate crisis.
September 24, 2021
Global Climate Strike and Divestment Rally at Princeton in front of Nassau Hall
12:30 - 4:30 pm
October 27, 2021
The Andlinger Centre invites e-filliates partner ExxonMobil along with Dow and Occidental Petroleum to speak at their annual conference. Divest Princeton protests outside and asks questions that go unanswered inside.
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October 27, 2021
Hannah Reynolds' Op Ed is published by The Nation: What Will It Take for Princeton to Finally Take Bold Climate Action?
November 8, 2021
The CPUC holds another in-person meeting and an update is given on the "dissociation process". Divest Princeton members hold up signs demanding full divestment. Multiple students ask why no students are involved with the Faculty Panel or the Administrative Committee and are told that "world leaders" are taking care of the process.
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November 18, 2021
The 146th Editorial Board of The Daily Princetonian endorses Divest Princeton.
December 10, 2021
Pro-divestment candidate Mayu Takeuchi is elected in a landslide as USG President along with 9 other pro-divestment candidates.
February 16, 2022
On February 16th, 2022, Divest Princeton filed a legal complaint with the New Jersey Attorney General, urging them to compel Princeton University to fully divest from fossil fuels. The complaint was prepared with the help of pro bono lawyers from the Climate Defense Project.
April 18, 2022
The Princeton Faculty & Staff Petition calling for immediate and full divestment from fossil fuels is submitted to the administration with 160 signatures. This is the first public and collective action by faculty and staff supporting divestment.
April 22, 2022
Earth Day, Still Delay - students protested another year of inaction in front of Nassau Hall
May 19-22, 2022
Hundreds of alumni and students wear Divest Princeton buttons throughout reunions, the P-rade and commencement. Click here for photos.
May 22, 2022
Rev. Jim Antal '72 urges Princeton to divest in his sermon at the Reunions Sunday Service in the Princeton University Chapel.
May 20, 2022
Reunions Alumni Panel:
Follow the Money: Princeton, the Climate Crisis and Divestment
featuring climate & green transition specialists Graham Turk '17, Sujata Rajpurohit *21, and Hannah Reynolds '22.With moderator Sanchali Pal '12. View the recording here
July 15, 2022
On July 15th, 2022 Divest Princeton published its response to the Faculty Panel Report.
September 23, 2022
Divest Princeton marked the Global Climate Strike with a protest outside Nassau Hall.
September 29, 2022
On September 29, 2022 Princeton announced partial divestment from publicly traded fossil fuel companies and partial dissociation from 90 coal and tar sands companies.
November 29, 2022
Princeton announces the creation of the Energy Research Fund. The fund places no limitations on fossil fuel funders and solicits corporate sponsorship.
February 3, 2023
Blair Arch Banner drop reminds Princeton that divestment is far from complete
April 24, 2023
Divest Princeton celebrates Earth Day with other campus environmental groups in Firestone Plaza.
May 5, 2023
Divest Princeton students organized a Die-in and protest to call attention to BP's sponsorship of CMI
May 11, 2023
Twenty-five faculty and staff publish an Op Ed urging Princeton to stop funding climate destruction through its pensions.
May 12, 2023
Greening Reunions launches their campaign to make Princeton Reunions sustainable with an Open Letter
May 26, 2023
Reunions Alumni Panel:
Divest the Rest: We aren't done yet featuring climate & green transition specialists
Claire Kaufman *23, Tina Eonemto Stege '97, Tibita Kaneene '03, Tom Taylor *21. With moderator Professor Rob Nixon. View the recording here
September 20, 2021
In person CPUC meeting held at 4:30 pm. Agenda includes "Update on principles and process to govern dissociation": faculty panel is announced which will give recommendations to a new committee which will then report back to the Trustees.
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September 10, 2021
September 17, 2023
60 Princetonians head in to New York to join 75,000 people at the March to End Fossil Fuels
September 29, 2023
Marking the one year anniversary of partial divestment, Divest Princeton publishes an Open Letter to President Eisgruber and the Trustees demanding action and accountability
November 11, 2023
Divest Princeton participates in the Second Annual Class of 1986 Virtual Climate Summit
February 17, 2024
Sunrise Princeton joins the environmental movement on campus.
October 3, 2024
Harvard University announces
full divestment from fossil fuels.
September 1, 2021
As the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved into the northeast, students and staff on campus are told to shelter in basements because of tornado warnings. Basements around campus flooded, as was predicted by the flash flooding warnings. At least 25 people were killed in New Jersey.
May 28, 2021
Divest Princeton published its response on May 28,2021. Princeton has fallen far short of the mark and we are continuing the fight to ensure that Princeton no longer funds the climate crisis.
June, 2021
Divest Princeton asks the administration a series of questions about the next steps and asks to be involved in this new phase for which there is no procedure on the CPUC website. The administration responds: "The administrative process to implement the dissociation actions approved by the Board of Trustees will be expert driven and accountable to the Board. Members of the Princeton community, including Divest Princeton, can remain engaged and updated on the process and its progress through the CPUC."
May 27, 2021
The Board of Trustees announces its decision to move ahead with "selective dissociation". No timelines are given and a new committee is to be created.
May 10, 2021
CPUC Resources Committee publishes the report it sent to the Trustees.
February 7- 9, 2021
Power and Money at Princeton: What we see and what we don’t
The Daily Princetonian publishes a three part series by guest contributors from Divest Princeton about donations and power at Princeton.
November 23-25, 2020
USG Referendum on divestment from fossil fuels passes with 82% of the vote. Read the question here. 17 of 19 candidates endorse divestment.
November 23, 2020
The 145th Editorial Board of The Daily Princetonian endorses divestment from fossil fuels.
The Resources Committee meets with Divest Princeton twice over Zoom.
June & July, 2020
May 29, 2020
Divest Princeton hosts its first virtual conversation about Princeton's duty to divest from fossil fuels during online Reunions (COVID-19 pandemic). Speakers include Bob Massie '78, Rebecca Goldburg '80, and Anna Liebowitz '09. Watch the replay here.
May 4, 2020
April 28, 2020
The Resources Committee meets privately to discuss the proposal and decided "its next step would be to meet with members of Divest Princeton, and continue meeting as a committee over the summer."
May 1, 2020
The CPUC holds a public meeting in which the Chair of the Resources Committee, Professor Blair Schoene (Geosciences), reports that the committee's review of the proposal was still in the beginning stages and outlines next steps. Professor Schoene also responds to questions from students and alumni about 1) why remaining invested in fossil fuels was not a political act in itself, and 2) why Princeton had previously decided to divest from companies operating in apartheid South Africa and Darfur.
Divest Princeton launches its website. Within days, 100 more Princetonians pledge to withhold donations until Princeton divests from fossil fuels.
March 10, 2020
The Resources Committee meets for its "initial review of the proposal."
February 22, 2020
At Princeton’s annual Alumni Weekend, Divest Princeton students present the divestment proposal and answer questions. Alumni share their reasons for supporting divestment and sign up to join the campaign. Bob Massie '78 speaks.
February 13, 2020
On Fossil Fuel Divestment Day, Divest Princeton joins with peers at over 60 universities to protest university investments in fossil fuel companies and submit a proposal for divestment to the Resources Committee. Divest Princeton members read aloud the proposal in front of Frist Center all day before marching to Nassau Hall.
Divest Princeton releases an Open Letter to President Eisgruber, titled "No Donations Until Divestment". Over 900 current and future alumni, faculty, and other members of the Princeton community have signed.
October 20, 2019
Divest Princeton protests during President Eisgruber’s opening address at the Princeton Environmental Forum, putting divestment on the agenda, with multiple faculty and alumni panelists supporting our efforts and calling on the university to divest.
October 24, 2019
September 20, 2019
Over 600 Princeton students, faculty, and community members participate in a climate strike. Participants rallied in Hinds Plaza and marched across campus to stand in solidarity with protesters around the world, demanding immediate and just action on the climate crisis.
April 2019
The Princeton Student Climate Initiative (PSCI) passes a USG referendum with 95 percent voter approval in favor of counting Scope III emissions, which includes the university’s investments (42% of undergraduates voted in the referendum which was record turnout).
March 24, 2016
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) proposes and co-sponsors a Whig-Clio Senate Debate on the merits of fossil fuel divestment. The pro-divestment side “wins” a spirited debate.
March 28, 2016
March 10, 2016
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) develops a new proposal for University divestment from fossil fuels and writes a new op-ed for the Prince, stating a renewed proposal for University divestment.
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) launches a new divestment petition, which garners over 500 signatures.
May 1, 2015
About 45 students rise in silent protest, holding signs, as Chair Fleurbaey announces the Resources Committee decision at a CPUC meeting.
May 4, 2015
The Resources Committee, then-chaired by Professor Marc Fleurbaey, declines to recommend divestment to the Princeton University Board of Trustees. Read their full response, their 2014-15 Annual Report, and the memos from President Christopher Eisgruber and Andy Golden, president of PRINCO, that strongly influenced the outcome.
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) students meet with the Resources Committee.
March 3, 2015
February 13, 2015
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) celebrates Global Divestment Day with tabling and a photo campaign.
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) submits a formal proposal to the CPUC Resources Committee, ultimately gathering over 1,600 signatures from the Princeton community as well as endorsements by 18 campus groups.
December 10, 2014
November 20, 2014
Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) develops a proposal to incorporate environmental responsibility into the University’s management of the endowment - of which divestment is a component - and ramps up its campaign.
Spring 2014
Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) and Princeton Sustainable Investment Initiative (PSII) organize the attendance of over 100 students, alumni, and faculty at the People’s Climate March in NYC.
September 21, 2014
Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) circulates a petition for Princeton to divest its holdings in fossil fuels companies, gathering 576 signatures by October of that year.
February 26 2013
Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) co-sponsors a panel on Energy, the Environment and Endowment Investing at The Princeton Association of New York City. David Crane '81, CEO of NRG Energy, Professor Michael Oppenheimer, Professor Peter Singer, and Randall A. Hack '72, former PRINCO president, spoke; Carl Ferenbach '63 served as the moderator.
October 2, 2013
Princeton University acts to "prevent future investment in companies complicit in genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan" after determining that there was "'considerable, thoughtful and sustained' campus interest in the Darfur conflict and widespread consensus that action should be taken." Read the Resources Committee’s full recommendation here.
June 2006
January 1987
March 22, 2021
CPUC Meeting - the Resources Committee presents preliminary findings with recommendations to be delivered on May 3 at the next CPUC meeting
