The real impact of universities’ fossil fuel divestment

The Huffington Post 19 September 2015

The University of California's recent announcement that it had pulled US$200 million out of coal and oil sands investments may be one of the most powerful divestments yet – but not because it'll hurt fossil fuel companies' bottom line, writes Lydia O’Connor for The Huffington Post.

The university system decided that fossil fuel investments were “no longer good” ones for its US$98.2 billion endowment fund, Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Bachher said, citing sustainability concerns and shrinking global demand.

Critics often slam these divestments as "empty gestures" and mere "window dressing", pointing out that few universities invest much in fossil fuels in the first place and that the financial loss is insignificant to energy companies. But Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesman for the climate advocacy group 350.org, says this misses the point. The goal of getting universities to divest isn't to financially burden fossil fuel companies; it's to tarnish their image.
Full report on The Huffington Post site

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