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Degrees of change: Edinburgh and SOAS universities ditch fossil fuels
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University of Edinburgh has joined SOAS and the University of Sussex in ditching fossil fuels | Credit: LWYang
Michael Holder
Michael Holder
07 February 2018
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Divestment movement continues to grow as more UK academic institutions fulfil pledges to end fossil fuel investments within three years
The University of Edinburgh and the SOAS 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.
SOAS - or the School of Oriental and African Studies - yesterday 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".
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Degrees of change: Edinburgh and SOAS universities ditch fossil fuels
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 per cent of their revenues from coal mining.
Director of SOAS, Baroness Valerie Amos CH, thanked the university's students for their campaigning on the issue. "SOAS students care about the future of our planet and push the School to live to its values," she said in a statement. "I am delighted that we have fulfilled our pledge."
The news came as the University of Edinburgh this 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.
The University said it had the largest endowment fund of any academic institution in Scotland, and that it would now become the largest university endowment in the UK to be free of fossil fuel investments.
At present, fossil fuel investments make up less than one per cent of the University of Edinburgh's funds under management, which are worth a total of around £1bn, with the institution having previously removed £2.5m of investment from firms involved in coal and tar sands.
The University said it would "continue to engage with fossil fuel companies in its research and teaching", adding that it has invested more than £150m in low carbon technology, climate-related research and "businesses that directly benefit the environment" since 2016.
Professor Charlie Jeffery, the University's senior vice-principal said he was "very proud" of the decision. "Climate change is one of the world's biggest challenges," he said. "Over the past few years, we have thought hard about how to respond to that challenge. This change in our investment strategy is a vital step on that journey."
It follows news last year that the University of Sussex had moved its investments away from fossil fuels into Liontrust's Sustainable Futures Managed Fund, which excludes any organisation involved in fossil fuels.
The University of Sussex held almost £9.5m worth of investments, with roughly 1.3 per cent invested in fossil fuel exploration companies such as Shell, BP and Rio Tinto, according to the Fossil Free Campaign.
The universities are the latest to join the divestment movement, which in recent weeks has seen the University of Bristol, bank Lloyd's of London, and New York City all announce fossil fuel divestment pledges.
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