by Fossil Free Penn
You may notice that underlying much of this guide- and most of Penn’s interaction with the world- is one principle: Penn is an engine of destruction for profit, determined to make money with very little regard for how that affects people or planet, communities or ecosystems. Penn is a business first, and an educational institution distantly second. That means, however, that as a researcher, an investor, a pipeline of money and talent, and a power player in Philadelphia politics, Penn’s environmental impact is massive, and is more than just the carbon it burns.
Penn loves to tout its own “green-ness.” But the university has a long history of refusing dialogue with students and the community, refusing accountability for harm, and refusing to change. All the while, Penn actively and knowingly upholds and profits from the industries most responsible for climate injustice in Philly and around the world.
That’s why Fossil Free Penn fights for climate justice and Philly community justice, by, among other tactics, shutting down Board of Trustee meetings, encamping on College Green, and this year, continuing to escalate.
Penn and Climate: Destruction for Profit
It is important to know that only a quarter of Penn’s generated emissions come from its campus and operations— but these emissions alone don’t show the full scope of Penn’s impact on climate, climate policy, and extractive systems. While it often righteously points fingers at the ills of climate change, Penn has over $922 million invested in the oil, gas and fossil fuel corporations responsible for polluting, destroying Indigenous lands, exploiting land and people in the global South, spreading false climate science, and more (Source; see pg. 20).
Penn does millions in research for fossil fuel giants like Exxon, and consistently fills career fairs and hiring events with extractors and their financiers, paving the way for further extracting and burning. The Board of Trustees is full of people who build corporate and personal wealth by investing in fossil fuels, fossil fuel infrastructure, the displacement of communities, private prisons, weapons, and more. It’s no surprise they do the same at Penn.
Since Penn’s inception over 275 years ago in Philadelphia, they have systematically destroyed the West Philadelphia community, called the Black Bottom (Video). Openly upholding industries that intentionally place dirty fossil fuel infrastructure in Black and Brown communities; declaring the area “blighted” and displacing thousands; building a militarized, enormous police force with a history of harassment; and this year evicting 72 families from their homes; Penn’s message is clear: people don’t matter.
Penn the Advertizer: Greenwash, Gaslight and Greed
Penn is a talented marketer, and like most businesses, loves to make itself out as “green.” Click into links in this section to get deeper facts about Penn’s Greenwashing.
University advertising materials tout the Climate Action Plan 3.0, which weakly addresses campus emissions (which are, again, just a quarter of Penn’s total impact). Refusing to address divestment, the school claims to be pursuing a carbon net-zero endowment— using parameters that conveniently disregard 90% of the emissions caused by fossil fuels. Again and again, Penn loves to obfuscate, make vacuous promises, and paint themselves as a hero while making minimal change.
Environmental Justice is Racial Justice is Police Abolition is Housing Justice is Labor Justice
Fossil Free Penn is a student run, radical activist campaign demanding a just, democratized university that actively combats systems of destruction for profit. We organize around 5 central demands:
FFP’s 5 Core Demands (Image: Fossil Free Penn)
Fossil Free Penn: Action and Escalation – JOIN US!!
Since 2014 students, faculty, alumni, and the Penn community have demanded divestment and justice. We submitted multiple comprehensive proposals for full and partial divestment. All were ignored. So in 2019, two years after our first sit-in in College Hall in 2017 (Video), we decided to continue to escalate our direct actions. On November 8th 2019, almost 100 students shut down a Board of Trustees meeting, forcing the people unilaterally in charge of Penn’s investment decisions to finally listen to us (Video).
The next meeting, we blockaded, confronting the trustees with the costs of their extractivism. And last year, we led a broad coalition of activists to encamp on College Green for a week, demanding of a terrified administration not just climate justice, but to Save the UC Townhomes, protect survivors of sexual assault, defund the Penn Police, and democratize the university (Photos).
Our strategy has been one of escalation and coalition building. We’ve worked to build stronger relationships with groups on campus and community organizations (such as Philly Thrive), and plan to strengthen those ties through collective action this year.
The climate crisis is the result of the same story we repeatedly hear: a few people reaping capital with no regard for the wellbeing of others, the same unjust system of colonialism, extractivism, and capitalism. Our fight is deeply tied to that of our comrades—Penn must divest from all destructive industries. Alongside PAO, PFP, CAFSA, GETUP, PIR, SLAP, BARS and others, we have pushed Penn to do better by the people it willfully harms. And have been met with embarrassing silence.
Perhaps that is the biggest betrayal: Penn knows the consequences of their actions, and refuses even to acknowledge they do wrong, never mind to change. They are relentless in their inaction; We must be equally relentless in our pressure. This is our fight. Make it yours too.
Penn Disorientation Guide 