At 4:00 PM this Friday, students took to the streets at the University of Washington demanding that the UW commit to meaningful sustainability measures. In an email sent out by the ICA at UW, (Institutional Climate Action), organizers expressed their demands center around forcing UW to “decarbonize as quickly as possible.” They defined this as a “95% emissions reduction by 2035.”

The group was founded in 2019 to push the UW to divest from fossil fuels, a campaign that became successful in September 2022. Their new campaigns push for the full cutting of ties between the fossil fuel industry and the UW — this includes an end to burning fossil fuels on campus. Despite relative success in student support throughout the campaign, UW is yet to set a date for getting off of fossil fuels and wants to delay the process.

When interviewed, ICA member Brett Anton explained to The Nightly why this delay in decarbonization is unacceptable. “UW is in one of the wealthiest countries and highest emitting nations in the world. Therefore, UW has not just the imperative to act on climate change but the ability; it has the resources available to make changes that other places simply do not. Since we need (to decarbonize) as quickly as possible, the UW needs to be a leader. That’s especially true given that the UW (advertises itself) as the 4th best university in the world for studying climate science and the best school for atmospheric science in the world… The UW needs to act like the leader that it says it is because if it doesn’t, we can’t expect anyone else to.”

This all comes after years of work from students pressuring the university to decarbonize and divest through official channels. However, UW’s official pathways for change have been insufficient in actually moving the neoliberal administration — despite passing resolutions through the undergraduate and graduate Student Senates, as well as some legislative success in the Faculty Senate, it has become clear that these official pathways have not been designed to actually facilitate transformative community-driven change. “If they’re not giving us ways to hold them accountable we’re gonna create ways to hold them accountable” - said an ICA member when interviewed.

The students chained themselves to the UW Power plant. They told The Nightly: “We will remain at the power plant until our demands are met.”

At the demonstration, students from all over campus expressed support and solidarity for a common cause. One student who spoke at the event from Resist-US Led War Seattle, later told The Nightly, “ICA and Resist understand that US imperialism harms the planet and the people on it–and that UW maintains financial and ideological ties with destructive corporations.”

The students are asking for support and mutual aid if you can help out. They will need food, water, and other supplies which can be brought to the smokestack behind the UW Power Plant. 

“If students want to bring things in support they are absolutely welcome to, we will release a script to call president Cauce and demand that the UW meet our asks. Get a bunch of your friends to come down and bring us some food. We'll sit there and talk, and then we can all call Cauce together.” - Said Anton. Brett went on to describe the welcoming environment and encouraged students to drop by this weekend and into the week, “Folks are definitely welcome to come. Come take your Be Reals with us!”

Apart from going down to the power plant this week, you can get involved with the ICA by going to one of their meetings at 5:00 PM on Thursdays in Savery 166 or checking out their Instagram. Their full demands can be found on their website.

Published: 5/19/2023