Divestment Movement ‘Contrived, Organized Angst’ to 'Build Fervor Around Climate Change’

The fossil fuel divestment movement, which began at Swarthmore College in 2010 and is now active on more than a thousand college campuses, is “contrived, organized angst” and “a game of bluff” whose ultimate goal is to “build fervor around climate change,” according to a study released Tuesday by the National Association of Scholars (NAS).

“On the surface, it is an effort to get colleges to sell off their investments in coal, oil and gas. Its real goal is to radicalize students and stoke public support for drastic political and economic transformations,” the study stated.

It also claims that the fossil fuel divestment movement is “managed by professional activists” at 350.org and “driven by wealthy donors and deep-pocketed foundations” who are “using students and the colleges to advance their agenda at the Paris Climate talks.”

“As of Sept. 1, 2015, 44 colleges and universities worldwide have divested from fossil fuels,” according to the study – less than one percent of the world’s degree-granting institutions. “But fossil fuel investments affected by divestment decision comprise only about 1 percent of the total college endowment.”

“This is a publicity stunt,” study author Rachelle Peterson told CNSNews, adding that “the universities that have divested have had virtually no effect on the fossil fuel industry. On average, it’s about one percent of the endowment.”

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