France: 18,000 students refuse to work for companies that pollute
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
More than 18,000 university students in France have signed a manifesto in which they pledge: “We will refuse to work for companies that pollute.”
France: 18,000 students refuse to work for companies that pollute
More than 18,000 university students in France have signed a manifesto in which they pledge: “We will refuse to work for companies that pollute.”
The alarm call contained in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Ipcc) has been heard by thousands of French students. Following the publication of the dramatic document – according to which the global average temperature could reach +1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as early as 2030 – students enrolled at the "Grandes écoles" (the most prestigious universities in the European country) have decided to make their voices heard.
Des milliers d'étudiants de grandes écoles refusent de travailler dans des entreprises polluantes novethic.fr/actualite/envi… via @Novethic
"We must question our privileged position"
More than 18,000 university students have signed a "Student manifesto for an ecological awakening", in which they call for a profound change in the society they live in. And in which they take a firm stance on their future: "We must question our privileged position so that the system can change." To that end, once they have completed their studies, none of them will agree to work for companies that pollute and that, as a result, put the future of entire generations at risk.
"What is the point of getting around by bicycle if you work for a company whose activities help accelerate climate change or the depletion of natural resources?", the students ask in the document. It is better, then, "to turn to employers that we believe are aligned with our demands."
France's university students: "We don't want to boycott, we want to reflect"
The strategy is not necessarily aimed "at boycotting companies or creating a blacklist", a student from the Paris Polytechnic explained to the online newspaper Novethic. "What we want to do is push university students to rethink their relationship with companies. We want to spark a reflection on this issue."
Refusing jobs at companies that are not aligned with the demands of combating climate change is not the only ecological initiative undertaken by students in France. Last April, students enrolled at the prestigious Sciences Po Paris faculty had asked their institution to end a partnership with oil giant Total. This was because its activities are "in clear contradiction with the mission of our school."