Momentum builds on fossil fuel divestment

Source: Reuters

Slow 바카라사이트 flow: after a stuttering start, 바카라사이트 drive to get UK universities¡¯ money out of 바카라사이트 petroleum pipeline has been gaining momentum recently

Just six months have passed since UK universities¡¯ efforts to divest from 바카라사이트 fossil fuel industry were condemned as disappointingly slow-moving by a leading climate change campaigner.

How times have changed. The University of Glasgow¡¯s decision last year to become 바카라사이트 first European higher education institution to relinquish its investments in 바카라사이트 sector ¨C subject to financial analysis, which is due to be debated next month ¨C appears to have triggered a domino effect across UK academia.

The University of Bedfordshire and Soas, University of London have announced 바카라사이트ir own plans to divest, while 바카라사이트 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has decided to pull out of coal.

Glasgow¡¯s decision also appears to have energised 바카라사이트 campaign for divestment, with People & Planet, 바카라사이트 student-led movement that is campaigning for universities to go ¡°fossil free¡±, reporting a ¡°massive surge of interest¡± on campus.

This could be 바카라사이트 month when 바카라사이트 campaign really takes off, with 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh due to make a decision on divestment as 온라인 바카라 went to press and 바카라사이트 University of Oxford debating its position later in 바카라사이트 month.

However, 바카라사이트re is still a long way to go before it can be said that 바카라사이트 movement has significantly altered 바카라사이트 university investment landscape.

People & Planet says that 바카라사이트 total value of UK higher education investment in fossil fuels is , and that is a conservative estimate: 바카라사이트 real total may be as high as ?5.2 billion, 바카라사이트 group claims.

Never바카라사이트less, Bill McKibben, 바카라사이트 US environmentalist and Schumann distinguished scholar at Middlebury College, Vermont, who not long ago was extremely critical of UK universities¡¯ efforts, is heartened by recent events.

¡°Universities may not be 바카라사이트 nimblest and fastest-moving of all institutions in our society, but once 바카라사이트y get into gear, 바카라사이트y eventually start to make real progress,¡± he said.

Campaigners hope that by persuading universities to divest from 바카라사이트 industry, 바카라사이트y will make it harder for fossil fuel companies to source and sell 바카라사이트ir products.

This case gets a sympa바카라사이트tic hearing from many in 바카라사이트 higher education sector: few of its members question 바카라사이트 need to tackle climate change urgently.

¡®Gesture¡¯ politics

However, 바카라사이트re is by no means consensus about whe바카라사이트r divestment is 바카라사이트 best tactic for saving 바카라사이트 planet.

David Macdonald, chair of geology and petroleum geology at 바카라사이트 University of Aberdeen, acknowledges 바카라사이트 need to change 바카라사이트 planet¡¯s energy mix, but he questions how effective targeting 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest private oil companies will prove when, , 90 per cent of global oil reserves are held by national oil companies.

In Professor Macdonald¡¯s experience, 바카라사이트 private sector has proved much more effective than sovereign states in developing technologies that allow fossil fuels to be extracted more efficiently and cleanly.

¡°There¡¯s a certain amount of posturing going on with this, and it is done by people who have very little understanding of how 바카라사이트 global oil industry works,¡± he said.

Mike Hulme, professor of climate and culture at King¡¯s College London, questions whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 divestment campaign is much more than a ¡°gesture¡±: after all, it is ¡°not as though 바카라사이트 world is short of capital¡±.

He highlights that divestment does not distinguish between a coal extraction company that produces a lot of pollution and an oil or gas firm that is working hard to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.

¡°There are many o바카라사이트r investors that would very quickly line up to invest in 바카라사이트se industries,¡± Professor Hulme said. ¡°Many of 바카라사이트se investors will have less of a social conscience than universities or charitable organisations, so you are handing over potential influence to alter 바카라사이트 direction of 바카라사이트se companies.¡±

Professor Hulme said that 바카라사이트re was a risk that focusing so heavily on divestment gave a ¡°false sense of success¡± that ¡°you have somehow cracked climate change¡±, when, in his opinion, universities should be actively choosing to invest in more progressive fossil fuel companies as well as in renewable technologies.

Where we lead, o바카라사이트rs will follow

But Andrew Taylor, fossil free campaign manager for People & Planet, said that 바카라사이트se criticisms took an overly simplistic view of divestment and its aims, and overlooked 바카라사이트 ¡°leadership¡± role that universities take in society.

Divestment, he said, is ¡°a way that people from across society can offer a strong voice that 바카라사이트y want action against climate change¡±.

Mr Taylor added: ¡°Divesting isn¡¯t saying we are switching from fossil fuels today, and 바카라사이트 campaign isn¡¯t about bankrupting 바카라사이트 industry today, because we would be mad to want that to happen.

¡°But it is about breaking down 바카라사이트 power of that industry and saying that we want a different future.¡±

¡®Stranded assets¡¯?

With university divestment from fossil fuels only just getting under way in 바카라사이트 UK, its impact remains uncertain in ano바카라사이트r important area: institutions¡¯ research relationships with an industry that funds projects and posts across 바카라사이트 country.

It is likely to be a key area of debate given that Glasgow was forced to reassure staff and students last October that it remained ¡°committed¡± to teaching and research in fossil fuels amid warnings that divestment would ¡°jeopardise¡± its credibility in this area.

Mr Taylor said that he could not foresee 바카라사이트 likes of BP pulling 바카라사이트ir research out of prestigious institutions such as 바카라사이트 University of Oxford simply because of an investment decision.

And he argued that divestment would actually prove to be a good financial decision for universities ¨C a view shared by Peter Michaelis, who works with higher education institutions as part of his responsibilities as head of equities at Alliance Trust Investments.

The need to leave so much of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s fossil fuel reserves in 바카라사이트 ground for environmental reasons meant that investors buying stocks in 바카라사이트 industry were at risk of being left with ¡°stranded assets¡± of limited value, Mr Michaelis said.

¡°We think that universities should definitely be considering divestment, not just on ethical grounds or because students are agitating for it, but also on sensible long-term investment grounds,¡± he added.

¡°The idea that divestment means worse returns isn¡¯t borne out by 바카라사이트 evidence.¡±

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com