This week, the committee recommended divesting from fossil fuels companies whose activities “disregard a 1.5-degree threshold” of global warming. The committee’s recommendation reinforces the Paris Agreement: the fossil fuel era is over.

The way forward is clear: President Meric Gertler must divest from fossil fuels immediately.

This recommendation is now open to interpretation by the president. He has the power to decide what forms of fossil fuel extraction constitute the “non-conventional and aggressive extraction” the committee advises divestment from.

Acting in line with a 1.5C threshold means divesting from all fossil fuel companies.

The campaign demands that President Gertler respect climate science. Acting in line with a 1.5C threshold means divesting from all fossil fuel companies. The fossil fuel industry’s business model is not compatible with a 1.5C target. Tar sands extraction, coal, fracking, and Arctic oil are uniquely harmful forms of extraction, but because international commitments have the world on track for at least 3C of global warming, as much carbon must be kept in the ground as possible now.

While the recommendation is an unprecedented victory for Canadian divestment campaigns, the university has not yet recognized the relationship between colonialism and the fossil fuel industry. The recommendation fails to acknowledge that fossil fuel companies who violate Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent commit social injury.

Acknowledging the fossil fuel industry’s harm is especially timely after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report.

Divestment organizer Keara Lightning says, “Acknowledging the fossil fuel industry’s harm is especially timely after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report. If Canadian institutions are serious about a process of reconciliation, a real first step can be cutting ties with fossil fuel companies directly tied to modern manifestations of colonialism.”

This recommendation further contradicts previous decisions at Dalhousie and Trent University to not divest from fossil fuels. More universities and institutional investors are now expected to follow U of T’s lead.

Perhaps most importantly, this recommendation sends a strong signal to the Trudeau government about where the world is going, and that Canada must commit to keep fossil fuels in the ground.