A special panel discussion on university approaches to carbon exposure and other contentious investment issues has been organized for York University community members. The discussion will take place March 24, from 11:30am to 1pm in the Senate Chamber, N940, Ross Building.
Speaking at the event are: University of Toronto Professor Bryan Karney, associate dean of Cross-Disciplinary Programs and chair, Division of Environmental Engineering & Energy Systems and Advisory Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels; Kevin Thomas, director of shareholder engagement at Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE); and Lila Asher, outreach chair of UoT350.org.
Karney is professor of civil engineering and the associate dean of cross disciplinary programs at the University of Toronto. He is a principal of consulting firm HydraTek & Associates Inc. For more than 30 years, Karney has provided hydraulic and hydraulic transient consulting services on a wide range of fluid pipe systems, including water, wastewater, oil, gas and jet fuel. He has spoken and written widely on subjects related to water resource systems, energy issues, hydrology, climate change, engineering education and ethics. Karney has authored several hundred papers and articles and recently chaired the University of Toronto’s committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels. He has won a number of teaching and research awards was a finalist in TVO’s best lecturer competition.
Thomas is the director of shareholder engagement at the SHARE, which engages companies on environmental, social and governance issues on behalf of Canadian institutional investors with more than $14 billion in assets under management. SHARE’s clients include pension funds, mutual funds, foundations, faith-based organizations and asset managers across Canada.
Asher is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto, studying environmental studies, equity studies and environmental biology. She has been an organizer with the fossil fuel divestment campaign for more than a year and is concerned about the implications of universities’ investments on vulnerable communities and students’ futures. Asher first became concerned about the environment when she learned about mountaintop removal on a field trip in Grade 6.