Divestment from an Indigenous lens

Guest: Vanessa Gray

Much of what’s written critically about the fossil fuel industry focuses on the effects of climate change, but there are significant human rights and human health costs as well that don’t get as much coverage. And the effects of the industry on Indigenous communities receive even less attention.

Vanessa Gray is the divestment campaign coordinator with Indigenous Climate Action. Growing up on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation near Sarnia, Ontario’s “Chemical Valley,” Gray witnessed first hand the serious effects unchecked industry can have on people’s well-being, so much so that she built an app which allows members of her community to track the nearby polluting companies and even trace health symptoms back to specific chemicals these companies were using or manufacturing.

On this episode of ‘Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,’Gray speaks with host Tim Nash about the push to divest from fossil fuels and the importance of reinvesting toward climate solutions.

More information about “Chemical Valley” can be found here, and the Aamjiwnaang struggle here.