News / Environment
Bristol uni pledges divestment action
University of Bristol has pledged to get the ball rolling in developing a new investment fund for environmentally friendly businesses.
The current investment fund which the university uses to generate extra income has come under attack from Fossil Free Bristol which has been fighting for a move towards what is known as divestment.
The university took the decision to explore a new investment fund at a meeting of its board of trustees last week.
Campaigners have welcomed the move, which has followed protests on campus and an open letter to the university signed by some academic staff.
But Fossil Free Bristol criticised the lack of clarity in a university statement released following the decision, adding that the university still needs to do more.
Stephen Le Fanu, a third year Biology Student, said: “The university should be making a strong statement that they do not support the continued extraction of fossil fuels, which is putting us at risk of irreversible, catastrophic climate change.”
A statement from the university said: “Last week, the Board approved a proposal from the University to investigate an alternative managed fund in which to hold its endowment funds, one that specifically responds to the challenges of fossil fuel dependence.
“The fund under consideration would not invest in a limited set of companies that derive the bulk of their revenues from the most carbon intensive fossil fuels.
“Where the fund holds fossil fuel based investments it will promote prudent climate risk management and may further disinvest from companies over time where the climate risks are not being adequately managed, and engagement fails to gain traction.”
If the university continued down the divestment path they would follow in the footsteps of universities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford and Surrey.
Pressure on University of Bristol to divest was knocked back by the institution’s court late last year.
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