Two top universities divest from fossil fuels

BusinessGreen 09 February 2018

The University of Edinburgh and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London have separately announced they will both have fully divested from fossil fuels within three years, following up on previous climate action pledges made by the two institutions, writes Michael Holder for BusinessGreen.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) last week claimed to be the first university in London to fulfil its divestment pledge, which was first announced in March 2015 following a student-led campaign which "garnered significant support from the student and staff community and beyond". The pledge means that within three years SOAS will no longer hold any investments within the oil and gas producers subsector, nor in any companies that derive more than 10% of their revenues from coal mining.

The news came as the University of Edinburgh last week announced it would also complete its transition away from fossil fuel investments within three years, as it builds towards its 2016 pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040.
Full report on the BusinessGreen site

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