fossil fuel divestment

{{climate change mitigation|Economics}}

Fossil fuel divestment aims to reduce carbon emissions by accelerating the adoption of the renewable energy transition through the stigmatization of fossil fuel companies. This includes putting public pressure on companies that are currently involved in fossil fuel extraction to invest in renewable energy.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that all future carbon dioxide emissions must be less than 1,000 gigatonnes to provide a 66% chance of avoiding dangerous climate change; this figure includes all sources of carbon emissions. To avoid dangerous climate change, only 33% of known extractable fossil fuel of known reserves can be used; this carbon budget can also be depleted by an increase in other carbon emission sources such as deforestation and cement production. It is claimed that, if other carbon emissions increase significantly, then only 10% of the fossil fuel reserves can be used to stay within projected safe limits.{{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Duncan|title=How much of the world's fossil fuel can we burn?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/keep-it-in-the-ground-blog/2015/mar/25/what-numbers-tell-about-how-much-fossil-fuel-reserves-cant-burn|work=The Guardian|date=25 March 2015 |access-date=29 March 2015}}

Furthermore, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Earth's average temperature has risen by {{convert|1.4|F-change|C-change|order=flip}} over the past century, and is predicted to rise another {{convert|2|to|11.5|F-change|C-change|order=flip}} over the next hundred years with continued carbon emission rates. This rise in temperature would far pass the level of warming that scientists have deemed safe to support life on earth.{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/climate-change-basic-information|title=Climate Change: Basic Information|last=EPA, OAR, OAP, CCD|first=US|website=epa.gov|date=12 August 2013 |language=en|access-date=21 February 2017}}

{{blockquote|I think this is part of a process of delegitimising this sector and saying these are odious profits, this is not a legitimate business model{{nbsp}}... This is the beginning of the kind of model that we need, and the first step is saying these profits are not acceptable and once we collectively say that and believe that and express that in our universities, in our faith institutions, at city council level, then we're one step away from where we need to be, which is polluter pays.|Naomi Klein (author of This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate)|The Guardian, 2014.{{cite web|title=Fossil fuel divestment: a brief history|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/08/fossil-fuel-divestment-a-brief-history|work=The Guardian|date=8 October 2014 |access-date=25 March 2015}}}}

{{Reduced pull quote|1=right

|2=This Agreement{{nbsp}}... aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change,{{nbsp}}... including by{{nbsp}}... Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2{{nnbsp}}°C and{{nbsp}}... Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.

|3=Paris Agreement|4=article 2 (2015).[http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf Paris Agreement] (article 2, page 22), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (page visited on 2 November 2016)}}

The Toronto Principle is a fossil fuel divestment strategy, which puts into action the aims set forth at the Paris Agreement in 2015. It was first coined by Benjamin A. Franta, in an article in the Harvard Crimson, as a reference to the University of Toronto's fossil fuel divestment process.{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/2/8/franta-divestment-toronto-principle/|title=On Divestment, Adopt the Toronto Principle|last=Franta|first=Benjamin A.|date=8 February 2016|work=Harvard Crimson|access-date=5 March 2016}}

After 350.org submitted a petition for divestment on 6 March 2014, President Gertler established an ad hoc Advisory Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels.{{cite web|url=https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/to350/pages/50/attachments/original/1428958642/fossil-fuel-divest-new.pdf?1428958642|title=The Fossil Fuel Industry and the Case for Divestment|date=10 April 2015|website=Toronto350.org|publisher=The Asquith Press at the Toronto Reference Library|access-date=4 March 2016}} In December 2015, the Committee released a [http://www.president.utoronto.ca/secure-content/uploads/2015/12/Report-of-the-Advisory-Committee-on-Divestment-from-Fossil-Fuels-December-2015.pdf report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401234737/https://www.president.utoronto.ca/secure-content/uploads/2015/12/Report-of-the-Advisory-Committee-on-Divestment-from-Fossil-Fuels-December-2015.pdf |date=1 April 2020 }} with several recommendations. Foremost, they argued that "targeted and principled divestment from companies in the fossil fuels industry that meet certain criteria ... should be an important part of the University of Toronto's response to the challenges of climate change."{{cite web|url=http://www.president.utoronto.ca/secure-content/uploads/2015/12/Report-of-the-Advisory-Committee-on-Divestment-from-Fossil-Fuels-December-2015.pdf|title=Report of the President's Advisory Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels|last=Karney|first=Brian|display-authors=etal|date=15 December 2015|publisher=University of Toronto|access-date=4 March 2016|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401234737/https://www.president.utoronto.ca/secure-content/uploads/2015/12/Report-of-the-Advisory-Committee-on-Divestment-from-Fossil-Fuels-December-2015.pdf|url-status=dead}} However, the report went further, and allied itself with the Paris Agreement. It recommended that the university divest from companies that "blatantly disregard the international effort to limit the rise in average global temperatures to not more than one and a half degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages by 2050...These are fossil fuels companies whose actions are irreconcilable with achieving internationally agreed goals."

Franta identified this response as the Toronto Principle, which, as he argues, "aligns rhetoric and action. It suggests that it is all institutions' responsibility to give life to the Paris agreement. Harvard could adopt this Toronto principle, and the world would be better for it." Franta also identified how the Toronto Principle would be put into practice, which includes "moving investments away from coal companies and coal-fired power plants, companies seeking non-conventional or aggressive fossil fuel development (such as oil from the Arctic or tar sands), and possibly also companies that distort public policies or deceive the public on climate. At present, these activities are incompatible with the agreement in Paris." In adhering to the Toronto Principle, Franta argues that leading institutions can use their status and power to meaningfully respond to the challenge of climate change, and act based on the goals at the Paris Agreement.

Ultimately in 2016 the University of Toronto President Meric Gertler rejected his advisory committee's recommendations, leaving the Toronto Principle unimplemented.{{cite news| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/u-of-t-rejects-recommendation-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels/article29426921/| title = U of T rejects recommendation to divest from fossil fuels - The Globe and Mail| website = The Globe and Mail| date = 30 March 2016| last1 = Chiose| first1 = Simona}} In November 2021, following continued pressure, President Gertler announced the university's plan to divest by 2030.{{cite news| title=University of Toronto pledges to divest from fossil fuels, run 'climate positive' campus by 2050| website=CBC | date=27 October 2021 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/university-of-toronto-sustainability-1.6227244 | access-date=21 June 2023}}

{{Main|Lofoten Declaration}}

The Lofoten Declaration (2017) calls for curtailing hydrocarbon exploration and expansion of fossil fuel reserves. It demands fossil fuel divestment and phase-out of use with a just transition to a low-carbon economy. The Declaration calls for early leadership in these efforts from the economies that have benefited the most from fossil fuel extraction.

{{Main|Carbon bubble}}

File:CarbonBubble ENG.svg according to data by the Carbon Tracker Initiative (2013)]]

File:Förderband bunt.jpgs blocking a coal mine in Germany to limit climate change (Ende Gelände 2016)]]

Stranded assets, which are known in relation to fossil fuel companies as the carbon bubble, occur when the reserves of fossil fuel companies are deemed environmentally unsustainable and so unusable, so must be written off. Currently the price of fossil fuels companies' shares is calculated under the assumption that all of the companies' fossil fuel reserves will be consumed, and so the true costs of carbon dioxide in intensifying global warming is not taken into account in a company's stock market valuation.{{cite web |last=Harvey |first=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Harvey |date=6 March 2014 |title='Carbon bubble' poses serious threat to UK economy, MPs warn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/06/carbon-bubble-threat-uk-economy-fossil-fuels-mps |access-date=6 March 2014 |work=The Guardian}}

In 2013 a study by HSBC found that between 40% and 60% of the market value of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other European fossil fuel companies could be wiped out because of stranded assets caused by carbon emission regulation. Bank of England governor Mark Carney, speaking at the 2015 World Bank seminar, has stated: "The vast majority of reserves are unburnable" if global temperature rises are to be limited to below 2{{nnbsp}}°C.{{cite web|last1=Shankleman|first1=Jessica|title=Mark Carney: most fossil fuel reserves can't be burned|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/13/mark-carney-fossil-fuel-reserves-burned-carbon-bubble|website=The Guardian|date=13 October 2014 |access-date=26 March 2015}} In 2019, Carney suggested that banks should be forced to disclose their climate-linked risks within the next two years, and said that more information would prompt investors to penalise and reward firms accordingly.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/15/bank-of-england-boss-warns-global-finance-it-is-funding-climate-crisis|title=Bank of England boss says global finance is funding 4C temperature rise|last=Partington|first=Richard|date=15 October 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 October 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} He warned that companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions could be punished by investors and go bankrupt.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-ignoring-climate-crisis-bankrupt-mark-carney-bank-england-governor|title=Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=13 October 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 October 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

In June 2014, the International Energy Agency released an independent analysis on the effect of carbon emissions controls. This estimated that $300 billion in fossil-fuel investments would be stranded by 2035 if cuts in carbon emissions are adopted so that the global mean surface temperature increases by no more than 2{{nnbsp}}°C.{{cite web|title=World Energy Investment Outlook – Special Report|url=http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/investment/|publisher=International Energy Agency|access-date=30 March 2015|page=43|date=3 June 2014|archive-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429221019/http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/investment/|url-status=dead}} The report estimated that about $120 billion of new fossil-fuel capacity in the power sector would be idled before repaying its investment costs, along with about $130 billion of stranded exploration costs for oil and about $50 billion for gas.

A report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative found that between 2010 and 2015 the US coal sector had lost 76% of its value including the closure of 200 mines. It found that Peabody Energy, the world's largest private coal mining company, had lost 80% of its share price over this time. This was attributed to Environmental Protection Agency regulations and competition from shale gas.{{cite web|title=US coal sector in 'structural decline', financial analysts say|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/us-coal-sector-in-terminal-decline-financial-analysts-say|work=The Guardian|date=24 March 2015 |access-date=28 March 2015}}

In 2013, fossil fuel companies invested $670 billion in exploration of new oil and gas resources.{{cite web|last1=Carrington|first1=Damian|title=Leave fossil fuels buried to prevent climate change, study urges|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserve-must-stay-buried-prevent-climate-change-study-says|work=The Guardian|date=7 January 2015 |access-date=29 March 2015}}

According to research from 2021, about half of the world's fossil fuel assets could be worthless by 2036 under a net zero transition.{{Cite news|last1=Watts|first1=Jonathan|last2=Kirk|first2=Ashley|last3=McIntyre|first3=Niamh|last4=Gutiérrez|first4=Pablo|last5=Kommenda|first5=Niko|title=Half world's fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 in net zero transition|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/nov/04/fossil-fuel-assets-worthless-2036-net-zero-transition|access-date=2021-11-07|website=The Guardian|language=en|publication-date=2021-11-04}}

A 2015 report studied 20 fossil fuel companies and found that, while highly profitable, the hidden economic cost to society was also large.{{cite book

| first1 = Chris

| last1 = Hope

| first2 = Paul

| last2 = Gilding

| first3 = Jimena

| last3 = Alvarez

| title = Quantifying the implicit climate subsidy received by leading fossil fuel companies — Working Paper No. 02/2015

| year = 2015

| publisher = Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

| place = Cambridge, UK

| url = http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/workingpapers/wp1502.pdf

| access-date = 27 June 2016

| archive-date = 28 March 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160328192509/http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/workingpapers/wp1502.pdf

| url-status = dead

}}

{{cite web

| title = Measuring fossil fuel 'hidden' costs

| date = 23 July 2015

| url = http://insight.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2015/measuring-fossil-fuel-hidden-costs/

| website = University of Cambridge Judge Business School

| access-date = 27 June 2016

}}

The report spans the period 2008–2012 and notes that: "for all companies and all years, the economic cost to society of their {{CO2}} emissions was greater than their after‐tax profit, with the single exception of ExxonMobil in 2008."{{rp|4}} Pure coal companies fare even worse: "the economic cost to society exceeds total revenue (employment, taxes, supply purchases, and indirect employment) in all years, with this cost varying between nearly $2 and nearly $9 per $1 of revenue."{{rp|4,5}} The paper suggests:

This hidden or externalised cost is an implicit subsidy and accordingly represents a risk to those companies. There is a reasonable chance that society will act to either reduce this societal cost by regulating against fossil fuel use or recover it by imposing carbon prices. Investors are increasingly focused on this risk and seeking to understand and manage it.{{rp|2}}

Similarly, in 2014, financial analyst firm Kepler Cheuvreux projected $28 trillion in lost value for fossil fuel companies under a regulatory scenario that targets 450 parts per million of atmospheric {{CO2}}.{{cite news|url=http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/28-trillion-11465|title=Fossil fuels face $30 trillion losses from climate, renewables|date=28 April 2014|work=Reneweconomy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429075913/http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/28-trillion-11465|archive-date=29 April 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.keplercheuvreux.com/pdf/research/EG_EG_253208.pdf|title=Stranded assets, fossilised revenues|date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420071604/http://www.keplercheuvreux.com/pdf/research/EG_EG_253208.pdf|archive-date=20 April 2017|publisher=Kepler Cheuvreux}}

Competition from renewable energy sources may lead to the loss of value of fossil fuel companies due to their inability to compete commercially with the renewable energy sources.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/14/rise-renewables-oil-firms-decades-earlier-think|title=Rise of renewables may see off oil firms decades earlier than they think|last=Ambrose|first=Jillian|date=14 October 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 October 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} In some cases this has already happened.{{cite web|last1=Parkinson|first1=Giles|title=Solar has won. Even if coal were free to burn, power stations couldn't compete|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/07/solar-has-won-even-if-coal-were-free-to-burn-power-stations-couldnt-compete|website=The Guardian|date=7 July 2014 |access-date=26 March 2015}} Deutsche Bank predicts that 80% of the global electricity market will have reached grid parity for solar electricity generation by the end of 2017.{{cite web|title=Solar at grid parity in most of world by 2017|url=http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/solar-grid-parity-world-2017|website=reneweconomy.com.au/|date=12 January 2015 |access-date=26 March 2015}} In 2012, 67% of the world's electricity generation was produced from fossil fuels.{{cite web|title=Breakdown of Electricity Generation by Energy Source|url=http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-Energy-Source#tspQvChart|publisher=The Shift Project|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-date=24 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924102156/http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-Energy-Source#tspQvChart|url-status=dead}}

Stanwell Corporation, an electricity generator owned by the Government of Queensland made a loss in 2013 from its 4,000 MW of coal and gas fired generation capacity. The company attributed this loss to the expansion of rooftop solar generation which reduced the price of electricity during the day; on some days the price (usually AU$40–50/MWh) was almost zero.{{cite web|title=Stanwell blames solar for decline in fossil fuel baseload|url=http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/stanwell-blames-solar-for-decline-in-fossil-fuel-baseload-54543|website=reneweconomy.com.au|date=October 2013 |access-date=26 March 2015}} The Australian Government and Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast the production of energy by rooftop solar to rise sixfold between 2014 and 2024.

Unstable fossil fuel prices has made investment in fossil fuel extraction a more risky investment opportunity. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell in value from $107 per barrel in June 2014 to $50 per barrel in January 2015. Goldman Sachs stated in January 2015 that, if oil were to stabilize at $70 per barrel, $1 trillion of planned oilfield investments would not be profitable.{{cite magazine|last1=Dickinson|first1=Tim|title=The Logic of Divestment: Why We Have to Kiss Off Big Carbon Now|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-logic-of-divestment-why-we-have-to-kiss-off-big-carbon-20150114|date=14 January 2015 |magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=27 March 2015}}

The moral motivation for fossil fuel divestment is based on the belief that it is wrong to profit from willfully and knowingly damaging the planet, and especially so when the impacts those damages are borne disproportionately by those who have benefitted the least from fossil fuel extraction and use. Philosopher and climate justice campaigner Alex Lenferna presents these three interlocking moral arguments in favor of fossil fuel divestment:{{Cite book|last=Lenferna|first=Alex|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198813248.001.0001/oso-9780198813248-chapter-8|title=Divest–Invest: A Moral Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment|date=2018-11-22|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=1|language=en|doi=10.1093/oso/9780198813248.003.0008|isbn=978-0-19-881324-8}}

1. investing in fossil fuels contributes to grave, substantial, and unnecessary harm and injustice;
2. divesting from fossil fuels helps fulfill our moral responsibility to promote climate action; and
3. investing in fossil fuels morally tarnishes those who do so by making them complicit in the injustices of the fossil fuel industry.

The legal argument for divestment is the case that as the fossil fuel industry faces long-term structural risks, investors who continue to place bets on it may be breaching their fiduciary duties.{{Cite web|last=Longstreth|first=Bevis|date=2021-11-09|title=Finance Must Combat Climate Change – or Else {{!}} by Bevis Longstreth & Connor Chung|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/institutional-investors-must-divest-from-fossil-fuels-by-bevis-longstreth-1-and-connor-chung-2021-11|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Project Syndicate|language=en}} In 2021, Harvard University committed to divestment from fossil fuels after facing a legal complaint asserting that its investments violated state laws.{{Cite web |last=Shankman |first=Sabrina |title=After nearly a decade of resistance, Harvard divests from fossil fuels |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/10/science/after-nearly-decade-resistance-harvard-divests-fossil-fuels/ |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}

A study by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford found that the stigmatisation of fossil fuel companies caused by divestment can "materially increase the uncertainty surrounding the future cash flows of fossil-fuel companies." That, in turn, "can lead to a permanent compression in the trading multiples – e.g., the share price to earnings (P/E) ratio of a target company."

The study also says that:

{{Blockquote|The outcome of the stigmatisation process poses the most far-reaching threat to fossil fuel companies. Any direct impacts pale in comparison.Atif Ansar, Ben Caldecott and James Tilbury, [ "Stranded assets and the fossil fuel divestment campaign: what does divestment mean for the valuation of fossil fuel assets?"], University of Oxford, 11 March 2015 (page visited on 20 September 2016).}}The goal of divestment campaigns is to create new global moral norms.{{Cite journal |last=Green |first=Fergus |date=2018-09-01 |title=Anti-fossil fuel norms |journal=Climatic Change |language=en |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=103–116 |doi=10.1007/s10584-017-2134-6 |bibcode=2018ClCh..150..103G |s2cid=67821173 |issn=1573-1480|doi-access=free }} These norms can then shift the market as a whole away from fossil fuel investments.

Recent evidence has suggested that, along with having social impacts, fossil fuel divestment hinders the fossil fuel industry's ability to carry out its business model. Cost of capital for fossil fuel projects have increased in recent years,{{Cite news|title=Cost of Capital Spikes for Fossil-Fuel Producers|website=Bloomberg News|date=9 November 2021 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-09/cost-of-capital-widens-for-fossil-fuel-producers-green-insight}} a trend that fossil fuel companies themselves have attributed in part to divestment pressure.{{Cite web|date=2018-12-16|title=At last, divestment is hitting the fossil fuel industry where it hurts {{!}} Bill McKibben|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/16/divestment-fossil-fuel-industry-trillions-dollars-investments-carbon|access-date=2021-12-01|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

According to a 2019 analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the energy sector portion of the S&P 500, which is dominated by fossil fuels, has underperformed the overall index since 1989.{{cite web|last1=Sanzillo|first1=Tom|last2=Hipple|first2=Kathy|title=Fossil Fuel Investments: Looking Backwards May Prove Costly to Investors in Today's Market|url=https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Divestment-Brief-February-2019.pdf

|publisher=IEEFA}}

In November 2014, a group of seven undergraduate, graduate, and law students filed a lawsuit at the Suffolk County Superior Court against the president and fellows of Harvard College and others for "mismanagement of charitable funds" and "intentional investment in abnormally dangerous activities" in relation to Harvard's investments in fossil-fuel companies.John Schwartz, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/us/harvard-students-move-fossil-fuel-divestment-fight-to-court.html Harvard Students Move Fossil Fuel Stock Fight to Court], New York Times (19 November 2014). In March 2015, the superior court granted Harvard's motion to dismiss. The superior judge wrote: "Plaintiffs have brought their advocacy, fervent and articulate and admirable as it is, to a forum that cannot grant the relief they seek."Mariel A. Klein & Theodore R. Delwiche, [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/3/24/judge-dismisses-divestment-lawsuit/ Judge Dismisses Divestment Lawsuit], Harvard Crimson (24 March 2015).

In early 2021, students at Harvard and Boston College filed complaints with the Massachusetts Attorney General asserting that fossil fuel investments represented a breach of state laws governing fiduciary duty.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-22|title=Students find obscure law that could force their schools to divest|url=https://grist.org/climate-energy/harvard-boston-college-students-find-obscure-law-that-could-make-university-fossil-fuel-investments-illegal/|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Grist|language=en-us}} In September, Harvard committed to divestment, explicitly citing its fiduciary obligations in the process.

In October 2014, ExxonMobil stated that the fossil-fuel divestment was "out of step with reality" and that "to not use fossil fuels is tantamount to not using energy at all, and that's not feasible."

In March 2014, John Felmy, the chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute, stated that the movement to divest from fossil-fuel companies "truly disgusts me" and stated that academics and campaigners who support divestment are misinformed, uninformed or liars. Felmy particularly criticized the environmentalist and author Bill McKibben.Chuck Quirmbach, [http://www.wpr.org/american-petroleum-institute-economist-efforts-divest-fossil-fuels-disgust-him American Petroleum Institute Economist: Efforts to Divest From Fossil Fuels 'Disgust' Him], Wisconsin Public Radio (4 March 2014).

The World Coal Association has pointed out that divesting from the fossil fuel industry does not necessarily result in a reduction of demand for fossil fuels, rather it would result in environmentally conscious investors losing influence over the operation of those companies. Benjamin Sporton, the acting chief executive of the World Coal Association in 2013, claims that coal has been the fastest growing energy source over the last decade and is an important raw material for steel and cement in developing countries.{{cite news

| title = The High Cost of Divestment

| first = Benjamin

| last = Sporton

| publisher = Cornerstone, The Official Journal of the World Coal Industry

| volume = 3

| issue = 2

| pages = 8–11

| date = 2015

| url = http://cornerstonemag.net/the-high-cost-of-divestment/

| access-date = 26 June 2015

| archive-date = 27 June 2015

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150627074835/http://cornerstonemag.net/the-high-cost-of-divestment/

| url-status = dead

}}

From half a dozen college campuses in 2011, calling on their administrations to divest endowments from coal and other fossil fuels and invest in clean energy and "just transition" strategies to empower those most impacted by environmental degradation and climate change, the campaign had spread to an estimated 50 campuses in spring 2012.{{cite web|title=Measuring the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement, September 2015|url=http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Measuring-the-Growth-of-the-Divestment-Movement.pdf|publisher=Arabella Advisors|access-date=27 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323091725/http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Measuring-the-Growth-of-the-Divestment-Movement.pdf|archive-date=23 March 2016}} By September 2014, 181 institutions and 656 individuals had committed to divest over $50 billion.{{cite web|title=Measuring the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement, September 2014|url=http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Measuring-the-Global-Divestment-Movement.pdf|publisher=Arabella Advisors|access-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329032858/http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Measuring-the-Global-Divestment-Movement.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2015|url-status=dead}} One year later, by September 2015, the numbers had grown to 436 institutions and 2,040 individuals across 43 countries, representing $2.6 trillion in assets, of which 56% were based on the commitment of pension funds and 37% of private companies. By April 2016, already 515 institutions had joined the pledge, of which 27% faith-based groups, 24% foundations, 13% governmental organisations, 13% pension funds and 12% colleges, universities and schools, representing, together with the individual investors, a total of $3.4 trillion in assets.{{cite web|title=Fossil Free, Divestment Commitments, April 2016|url=http://gofossilfree.org/commitments|access-date=12 April 2016}} In April 2020, the number of institutions had grown to 1192, with a total combined asset value of $14,14 trillion.{{Cite web|url=https://gofossilfree.org/divestment/commitments/|title=Divestment Commitments|website=Fossil Free: Divestment|language=en-US|access-date=11 April 2020}} As of July 2023, more than 1593 institutions with assets totalling more than $40.5 trillion in assets worldwide had begun or committed some form of divestment of fossil fuels.

In 2006, the UK-based student campaign network People & Planet launched the Ditch Dirty Development campaign which was an early progenitor to the later divestment campaigns by students in the US and UK. This campaign targeted initially UK government funding for fossil fuel projects and later, alongside PLATFORM and BankTrack, targeted banks like RBS over their funding of oil and gas projects.{{Cite web|date=13 January 2009|title=Memorandum submitted jointly by PLATFORM, People & Planet and BankTrack (PBR08008)|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmenvaud/memo/prbu2008/m08.htm}} The campaign is no longer active.

File:Divestment activists with Bob Brown.jpg]]

File:ANU Students Vote for Divestment.jpg

The divestment campaign at the Australian National University (ANU) is one of the longest running in the world and, while it has not yet achieved full fossil fuel divestment, it has had substantial wins, most notably in 2011 and 2014.

Fossil Free ANU formed out of the ANU Environment Collective (EC), a consensus-based and non-hierarchical group of students affiliated with the Australian Student Environment Network, when students were notified in 2011 by campaigners at the Northern Rivers, NSW, that ANU was the 12th largest shareholders in the coal seam gas company Metgasco.{{cite web|title = About Us|url = http://www.anuenviro.org/values/|website = ANU Enviro Collective|access-date = 1 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170227122602/http://www.anuenviro.org/values/|archive-date = 27 February 2017|url-status = dead}} Following student protests, including an event called "ANU Gets Fracked" that saw students erect a mock gas rig in Union Court, the ANU Council announced in October 2013 that it would divest from Metgasco, citing student concerns and the fact that the Australian Ethical Investment did not approve of them.{{cite web|title = ANU to sell coal seam gas shares after student pressure|url = http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/10/13/3338652.htm|website = www.abc.net.au|access-date = 1 February 2016|language = en-AU}} Tom Stayner, an activist from the EC, stated in the ANU student paper Woroni that: "He took some convincing, but the Vice Chancellor is showing leadership on this urgent issue."{{cite web|title = ANU Removes Itself From Coal Seam Gas Operations {{!}} Woroni|url = http://dev.woroni.com.au/articles/news/anu-removes-itself-coal-seam-gas-operations|website = dev.woroni.com.au|access-date = 1 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160302121148/http://dev.woroni.com.au/articles/news/anu-removes-itself-coal-seam-gas-operations|archive-date = 2 March 2016|url-status = dead}}

However, student concerns were again raised in 2012 when it was revealed that the ANU had only reduced its holding in Metgasco from over 4 million shares in 2011 to 2.5 million in 2012.{{cite web|title = Metgasco Our Dirty Secret|url = http://www.woroni.com.au/news/metgasco-our-dirty-secret/|website = Woroni| date=16 February 2013 |access-date = 1 February 2016|language = en-US}} In 2013, Tom Swann filed a FOI request to the ANU requesting all "documents created during 2012, which refer to the University's purchase, sale or ownership of shares in any company which generates revenue from oil, coal, gas, or uranium."{{cite web|title = ANU Investments in Fossil Fuels – a Freedom of Information request to Australian National University – Right To Know|url = https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/anu_investments_in_fossil_fuels|website = www.righttoknow.org.au| date=15 January 2013 |access-date = 1 February 2016}} These documents revealed that ANU had substantial holdings in major fossil fuel companies and had been buying shares in Santos while selling shares in Metgasco.{{cite news|title = ANU students lukewarm on 'gold standard' policy|url = http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/anu-students-lukewarm-on-gold-standard-policy-20131007-2v3e4.html|website = Canberra Times| date=7 October 2013 |access-date = 1 February 2016}} Students lobbying and public pressure led the ANU Council to implement a Socially Responsible Investment Policy (SRI) in late 2013 modelled on Stanford University, which aims to "avoid investment opportunities considered to be likely to cause substantial social injury."

In 2014, students from Fossil Free ANU organised the first student-initiated referendum at the ANU and in elections in September more than 82 per cent of students voted in favour of the ANU divesting from fossil fuels in what was the highest turnout in a student election at the university in more than a decade.{{cite news|title = Students put the Coalition on notice over climate change|url = http://www.theage.com.au/comment/students-put-the-coalition-on-notice-over-climate-change-20141022-119sn7.html|newspaper = The Age|date = 23 October 2014|access-date = 1 February 2016|first = Louis|last = Klee}} In October 2014, the ANU Council announced that it would divest from seven companies, two of which, Santos and Oil Search, performed poorly in an independent review undertaken by the Centre for Australian Ethical Research.{{cite news|title = ANU sale of fossil fuel holdings not enough: students|url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-03/anu-selling-fossil-fuel-company-holdings-not-enough-student-says/5789748|website = ABC News| date=3 October 2014 |access-date = 1 February 2016|language = en-AU}} This decision provoked a month-long controversy with the Australian Financial Review publishing over 53 stories criticising the decision including 12 front pages attacking the ANU, with its editor-in-chief, Michael Stutchbury, prouncing the decision to be as "disingenuous" as banning the burqa. These attacks, which The Canberra Times editorial described as "verging on hysterical"{{cite web|title = ANU investment policy draws fire|url = http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/ct-editorial/anu-investment-policy-draws-fire-20141007-10r8pu.html|website = Canberra Times| date=7 October 2014 |access-date = 1 February 2016}} was joined by members of the cabinet of the Abbott government, with the Treasurer Joe Hockey stating that the ANU Council is "removed from the reality of what is helping to drive the Australian economy and create more employment,"{{cite news|title = Coalition accused of 'bullying' ANU after criticism of fossil fuel divestment|url = https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/13/coalition-accused-of-bullying-anu-after-criticism-of-fossil-fuel-divestment|newspaper = The Guardian|date = 12 October 2014|access-date = 1 February 2016|issn = 0261-3077|language = en-GB|first = Oliver|last = Milman}} Education Minister Christopher Pyne calling it "bizarre"{{cite news|title = Pyne says ANU decision to ditch mining shares 'bizarre'|url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-13/pyne-says-anu-decision-to-ditch-mining-companies-bizarre/5808674|website = ABC News| date=12 October 2014 |access-date = 1 February 2016|language = en-AU}} and Prime Minister Tony Abbott calling it "stupid."{{cite web|title = Tony Abbott attacks ANU's 'stupid decision' to dump fossil fuel investments|url = https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-attacks-anus-stupid-decision-to-dump-fossil-fuel-investments-20141015-116a0y.html|website = The Sydney Morning Herald| date=15 October 2014 |access-date = 1 February 2016}} In response, Louis Klee, an activist from Fossil Free ANU, wrote in The Age that the reaction demonstrated not just "the complicity of state power with the mining industry," but also:

... that the citizens of this country are powerful voices in the debate over climate justice. It demonstrates that they are, ultimately, voices speaking with growing eloquence, urgency and authority for one thing: action to address global climate change.

File:Petition.jpg students present a giant petition to the University Council.]]

Vice-Chancellor of ANU Ian Young stood by the decision, stating:

On divestment, it is clear we were in the right and played a truly national and international leadership role. ... [W]e seem to have played a major role in a movement which now seems unstoppable.{{cite news|url = http://vcdesk.anu.edu.au/2015/12/17/farewell-anu/|title = Farewell ANU|last = Young|first = Ian|date = 17 December 2015|access-date = 1 February 2016|archive-date = 21 January 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160121154738/http://vcdesk.anu.edu.au/2015/12/17/farewell-anu/|url-status = dead}}

ANU still has holdings in fossil fuel companies and Fossil Free ANU continues to campaign for ANU to 'Divest the Rest'.

{{Main|350.org}}

350.org is an international environmental organization encouraging citizens to action with the belief that publicizing the increasing levels of carbon dioxide will pressure world leaders to address climate change and to reduce levels from 400 parts per million to 350 parts per million. As part of its global policy, 350.org launched their Go Fossil Free: Divest from Fossil Fuels! campaign in 2012, which campaign calls for colleges and universities, as well as cities, religious institutions, and pension funds to withdraw their investments from fossil fuel companies. From 2013 to 2020 Australian members built a network of local groups across the country advocating for institutions to divest.{{Cite web |last=Gulliver |first=Robyn |date=2022-10-10 |title=Australian Campaign Case Study: Divestment Campaign 2013 - 2021 |url=https://commonslibrary.org/campaign-case-study-divestment-campaign-2013-2021/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}

Divest-Invest Philanthropy is an international platform for institutions committed to fossil fuel divestment.[http://divestinvest.org Divest-Invest Philanthropy] ("Divest from fossil fuels. Invest in climate solutions."), official website (page visited on 7 August 2016).The two divestment organisations cited by Tim Flannery in his list of "Organisations fighting for a better climate" are 350.org and Divest-Invest Philanthropy. Reference: Tim Flannery, Atmosphere of Hope. Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Penguin Books, 2015, pages 224–225 ({{ISBN|9780141981048}}).

File:Keep-it-in-the-ground (cropped).jpgs in a coal mine]]

In March 2015, The Guardian launched the 'Keep it in the ground' campaign encouraging the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to divest from fossil fuel companies in which the foundation has a minimum of $1.4 billion invested.{{cite web|title=Keep it in the Ground campaign: six things we've learned|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/keep-it-in-the-ground-blog/2015/mar/25/keep-it-in-the-ground-campaign-six-things-weve-learned|work=The Guardian|date=25 March 2015|access-date=28 March 2015}} The Wellcome Trust has £450m of investments in Shell, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and BP. The petition had received over 140,000 signatures by the end of March 2015.{{cite web|title=Keep it in the ground|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2015/mar/16/keep-it-in-the-ground-guardian-climate-change-campaign|work=The Guardian|date=16 March 2015 |access-date=29 March 2015 |last1=Rusbridger |first1=Alan |last2=Howard |first2=Emma |last3=Randerson |first3=James |last4=Michel |first4=Amanda |last5=Griggs |first5=Troy |last6=Louter |first6=Daan }}

The Guardian itself stopped accepting advertisements from the fossil fuel industry in January 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jan/29/guardian-to-ban-advertising-from-fossil-fuel-firms-climate-crisis|title=Guardian to ban advertising from fossil fuel firms|website=TheGuardian.com|date=29 January 2020}}

Fossil Free Stanford is one of the highest-profile university divestment campaigns in the US In May 2014, the university divested its endowment, then valued at US$18.7 billion, from holdings in coal extraction companies following a sustained campaign by undergraduate students.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/education/stanford-to-purge-18-billion-endowment-of-coal-stock.html|title=Stanford to Purge $18 Billion Endowment of Coal Stock|first=Michael|last=Wines|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 May 2014|access-date=26 March 2019}} Author Naomi Klein called the divestment, "the most significant victory in the youth climate movement to date."{{cite web|url=https://thischangeseverything.org/book/|title=This Changes Everything – The Book|website=This Changes Everything|access-date=26 March 2019}}

The campaign maintains widespread support on the campus, exemplified in multiple all-campus referendums, including in April 2014 and April 2018, in which the student body voted 75 percent and 81 percent in favor of divestment from all fossil fuels, respectively.{{cite web|url=http://elections.stanford.edu/archives/2014-elections-results|title=2014 ASSU Spring Quarter General Election Results|website=elections.stanford.edu|access-date=26 March 2019}} The Stanford Undergraduate Senate and Stanford Graduate Student Council also both passed resolutions calling for full fossil fuel divestment in 2014.{{cite web|date=7 June 2018|title=A Resolution in Support of Divestment from Fossil Fuel Companies at Stanford, UGS-S2013-14|url=http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/uploads/2/3/4/0/23400882/ugs-s2013-14.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607234320/http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/uploads/2/3/4/0/23400882/ugs-s2013-14.pdf|archive-date=7 June 2018|access-date=26 March 2019|website=Fossil Free Stanford}}{{cite web|date=7 June 2018|title=A Resolution in Support of StanfordUniversity's Divestment from Fossil Fuel Companies, GSC-2014-21|url=http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/uploads/2/3/4/0/23400882/gsc-2014-21__1_.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607234320/http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/uploads/2/3/4/0/23400882/gsc-2014-21__1_.pdf|archive-date=7 June 2018|access-date=26 March 2019|website=Fossil Free Stanford}} In 2016, the student body Presidents and Vice Presidents from both the 2016–2017 school year and the 2015–2016 school year published a letter calling for the university's leadership to represent the student consensus in support of fossil fuel divestment.{{cite web|url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/05/10/assu-execs-call-for-board-to-represent-student-consensus-on-fossil-fuel-divestment/|title=ASSU Execs call for Board to represent student consensus on fossil fuel divestment|first=Op|last=Ed|date=11 May 2016|access-date=26 March 2019}}

In January 2015, a group of more than 300 Stanford faculty published a letter calling for full divestment, which garnered international attention.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/11/stanford-professors-fossil-fuel-investments|title=Stanford professors urge withdrawal from fossil fuel investments|first1=Suzanne|last1=Goldenberg|first2=US environment|last2=correspondent|newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 January 2015|access-date=26 March 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}} Additional faculty signed on in the following weeks such that the total grew to 457 faculty signatories.{{cite web|url=http://www.stanfordfacultydivest.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908111421/http://www.stanfordfacultydivest.org/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 September 2018|title=Stanford Faculty For Fossil Fuel Divestment – Join Us|date=8 September 2018|access-date=26 March 2019}} Signatories included a former president of the university, multiple department chairs, a vice provost, multiple Nobel Laureates, and members of all seven of the university's schools.{{cite web|url=http://www.stanfordfacultydivest.org/letter.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908110856/http://www.stanfordfacultydivest.org/letter.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 September 2018|title=Letter – Stanford Faculty For Fossil Fuel Divestment|date=8 September 2018|access-date=26 March 2019}}

In November 2015, in advance of the UNFCCC COP 21 climate negotiations that resulted in the Paris Agreement, over 100 students risked arrest by staging a non-violent sit-in, surrounding the university president's office for five days and four nights.{{cite web|url=http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/sit-in-recap.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321222249/http://www.fossilfreestanford.org/sit-in-recap.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 March 2017|title=SIT-IN: RECAP – Fossil Free Stanford|date=21 March 2017|access-date=26 March 2019}} The sit-in ended when the university's president, John Hennessy, agreed on the fifth day to a public meeting with the student group.{{cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/20/sit-in-at-stanfords-main-quad-ends-and-protesters-call-meeting-with-university-president-disappointing/|title=Sit-in at Stanford's Main Quad ends, and protesters call meeting with university president 'disappointing'|date=20 November 2015|access-date=26 March 2019}} In response to the students' publicized plans to hold this sit-in, the university's board of trustees published a letter to the UNFCCC calling for bold climate action.{{cite web|url=https://news.stanford.edu/2015/10/28/climate-change-statement-102815/|title=Stanford issues statement on climate change ahead of Paris conference|first=Stanford|last=University|date=28 October 2015|website=Stanford News|access-date=26 March 2019}}

In April 2016, the university's board announced that it would take no further divestment action related to fossil fuel divestment. In response, a group of over 1000 students and Alumni pledged during the school's graduation ceremonies in June 2016 to withhold all future donations until the school achieved full divestment.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Students-And-Alumni-Pledge-To-Withhold-Donations-8079241.php|title=Students, alumni pledge to withhold donations until university divests from fossil fuels|first=Bay City News|last=Service|date=12 June 2016|website=SFGate|access-date=26 March 2019}}

Divest Harvard is an organization at Harvard University that seeks to compel the university to divest from fossil fuel companies. The group was founded in 2012 by students at Harvard College.{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/2/arrested-divestment-magazine/ |title=Arrested Divestment | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} In November 2012, a referendum on divestment passed at Harvard College with 72% support,{{cite web|last=Welton |first=Alli |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/harvard-students-vote-72-percent-support-fossil-fuel-divestment/ |title=Harvard Students Vote 72 Percent Support for Fossil Fuel Divestment |publisher=The Nation |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=21 May 2016}} followed by a similar referendum at the Harvard Law School in May 2013, which passed with 67% support.{{cite web|last=Lee |first=Steven S. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/8/law-school-vote-divestment/ |title=Law School Students Vote for Divestment | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}}{{cite web|last=Patel |first=Dev A. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/11/18/HLS-divestment-letter-government/ |title=HLS Student Government Sends Pro-Divestment Letters to Minow, Faust | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} During this time, representatives from Divest Harvard began meeting with members of Harvard University's governing body, the Harvard Corporation,{{cite news| url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/a-new-divestment-focus-fossil-fuels/ | work=The New York Times | first=Randall | last=Smith | title=A New Divestment Focus on Campus: Fossil Fuels | date=5 September 2013}} but the meetings were described as unproductive.{{cite news| url=https://time.com/3825978/divest-harvard-closed-doors/ | magazine=Time | first=Tara | last=Raghuveer | title=Former Undergraduate Council President: What Happened Behind Divest Harvard Closed Doors | date=20 April 2015}}

In October 2013, the Harvard Office of the President released a Fossil Fuel Divestment Statement.{{cite web |url=http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels |title=Fossil Fuel Divestment Statement | Harvard University |website=Harvard.edu |date=3 October 2013 |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818095626/http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels |url-status=dead }} Following this, Divest Harvard began organizing rallies, teach-ins,{{cite web|first=Jessica |last=Leber |url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/3018395/can-the-growing-student-movement-to-divest-colleges-from-fossil-fuels-succeed |title=Can The Growing Student Movement To Divest Colleges From Fossil Fuels Succeed? | Co.Exist | ideas + impact |website=Fastcoexist.com |date=1 October 2013 |access-date=21 May 2016}} and debates on divestment.{{cite web|last=Bernhard |first=Meg P. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/11/10/divest-harvard-forum-investment/ |title=Forum Debates University Divestment | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} In March 2014, students from Divest Harvard recorded an impromptu exchange on divestment with Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, during which Faust appeared to claim that fossil fuel companies do not block efforts to counteract climate change.{{cite web|last=Romm |first=Joe |url=http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/04/3361911/harvard-president-faust-fossil-fuel/ |title=Exclusive: Harvard President Faust Says Fossil Fuel Companies Are Not Blocking Clean Energy |publisher=ThinkProgress |date=4 March 2014 |access-date=21 May 2016}} The video has since become a source of controversy.{{cite web|last=Hashmi |first=Amna H. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/3/11/faust-disappointed-divest-harvard/ |title=Faust Expresses Disappointment in Divest Harvard Video Confrontation | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}}

In April 2014, a group of nearly 100 Harvard faculty released an open letter to the Harvard Corporation arguing for divestment.{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-10/harvard-faculty-urges-university-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels | work=Bloomberg | first=Michael | last=McDonald | title=Harvard Faculty Urges University to Divest From Fossil Fuels | date=10 April 2014}} This was followed by a 30-hour blockade of the Harvard president's office by students protesting the president's refusal to engage in a public discussion of divestment; the Harvard administration terminated the blockade by arresting one of the student protesters.{{cite news|last=Crooks |first=Ed |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f9a93dfc-d13e-11e3-bdbb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3gq0ySrYf |title=Fossil fuel protesters blockade offices at Harvard University |website=Financial Times |date=1 May 2014 |access-date=21 May 2016}} Following the protest, Faust said she would not hold the open forum that students and faculty had requested and would not engage with students from Divest Harvard.{{cite web|last=Watros |first=Steven R. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/5/8/faust-divestment-talk-faculty/ |title=Faust Says She Will Work with Faculty, Not Divest Group, To Discuss Climate Change | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} In May 2014, a group of Harvard alumni interrupted an alumni reunion event with Faust present by standing and holding a pro-divestment banner; the alumni were removed from the event and banned from Harvard's campus.{{cite web |last=Ducharme |first=Jamie |url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/05/30/distinguished-harvard-alumni-stage-protest-reunion-ceremony/ |title=Harvard Alumni Stage Protest During Reunion Ceremony |website=Bostonmagazine.com |date=30 May 2014 |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224136/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/05/30/distinguished-harvard-alumni-stage-protest-reunion-ceremony/ |url-status=dead }}

In September 2014, Harvard faculty renewed their calls for an open forum on divestment{{cite web|last=Patel |first=Dev A. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/9/11/faculty-renew-divestment-call/ |title=Faculty for Divestment Renew Call for Open Forum | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} and continued to argue for divestment publicly.{{cite web|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2014/10/faculty-members-make-the-case-for-divestment |title=Harvard faculty for divestment hold public forum, meet privately with Faust |date=28 October 2014 |work=Harvard Magazine |access-date=21 May 2016}} In October 2014, Divest Harvard organized a three-day fast and public outreach event to call attention to the harms of climate change.{{cite web|last=Delwiche |first=Theodore R. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/21/divest-harvard-week-fast/ |title=Activists Kick Off Week-Long Fast for Divestment | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} In November 2014, a group of students calling themselves the Harvard Climate Justice Coalition{{cite web|url=http://www.divestproject.org/ |title=Harvard Climate Justice Coalition v. President and Fellows of Harvard College | A student lawsuit to enjoin the Harvard Corporation's investments in fossil fuel companies |website=Divestproject.org |access-date=21 May 2016}} filed a lawsuit against the Harvard Corporation to compel divestment on the grounds of Harvard's status as a non-profit organization.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/us/harvard-students-move-fossil-fuel-divestment-fight-to-court.html | work=The New York Times | first=John | last=Schwartz | title=Harvard Students Move Fossil Fuel Stock Fight to Court | date=19 November 2014}} The lawsuit was dismissed by a Massachusetts Superior Court judge, who wrote that "Plaintiffs have brought their advocacy, fervent and articulate and admirable as it is, to a forum that cannot grant the relief they seek."{{cite web|last=Delwiche |first=Theodore R. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/3/24/judge-dismisses-divestment-lawsuit/ |title=Judge Dismisses Divestment Lawsuit | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} The plaintiffs have stated that they plan to appeal the decision.

In January 2015, it was revealed that Harvard had increased its direct investments in fossil fuel companies considerably,{{cite news|first=Suzanne |last=Goldenberg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/14/harvard-invests-tens-millions-dollars-fossil-fuels-face-divestment-campaign |title=Harvard defies divestment campaigners and invests tens of millions of dollars in fossil fuels | Environment |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=21 May 2016}} and the number of faculty and alumni supporting divestment grew. By April 2015, the faculty group calling for divestment grew to 250,{{cite web|last=Delwiche |first=Theodore R. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/12/25/vermont-harvard-club-endorses-divestment/ |title=Vermont Harvard Club Endorses Divestment | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} the Harvard alumni club of Vermont officially voted to endorse divestment, and Divest Harvard announced the creation of a fossil-free alumni donation fund that Harvard would receive conditional on divestment.{{cite web|first=Jessica |last=Leber |url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/3043781/the-fossil-fuel-divestment-movements-newest-strategy-alternative-endowments |title=The Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement's Newest Strategy: Alternative Endowments | Co.Exist | ideas + impact |website=Fastcoexist.com |date=19 February 2015 |access-date=21 May 2016}} In February 2015, Divest Harvard occupied the president's office for 24 hours in protest of the Harvard Corporation's continued unwillingness to engage students on the topic of divestment.{{cite web|last=Delwiche |first=Theodore R. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/3/30/faust-disapproves-divest-occupation/ |title=Faust Disapproves of Divest Harvard's February Occupation | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} This was followed by an open letter from a group of prominent Harvard alumni urging the university to divest.{{cite news|first=Matt |last=Rocheleau |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/19/alumni-withhold-donations-join-student-protests-pressure-colleges-divest-from-fossil-fuels/WgWZ1SQKEAxigN6Gl1pRrI/story.html |title=Alumni withhold donations, join student protests to pressure colleges to divest from fossil fuels |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=20 February 2015 |access-date=21 May 2016}} In April 2015, Divest Harvard and Harvard alumni carried out an announced{{cite news|first=Emma |last=Howard |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/13/harvard-divestment-campaigners-gear-up-for-a-week-of-action |title=Harvard divestment campaigners gear up for a week of action | Environment |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=21 May 2016}} week-long protest called Harvard Heat Week,{{cite web|url=http://harvardheatweek.org/wrap-up/ |title=Harvard Heat Week – Wrap up |website=Harvardheatweek.org |access-date=21 May 2016}} which included rallies, marches, public outreach, and a continuous civil disobedience blockade of administrative buildings on campus.{{cite news|first=Nicky |last=Woolf |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/17/harvard-divestment-protest-civil-rights-moment |title=Cornel West warns of 'Planetary Selma' at Harvard fossil fuel divestment protest | Environment |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=21 May 2016}} The Harvard administration avoided engaging with the protest.{{cite web|last=Klein |first=Mariel A. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/4/17/administration-response-divest-harvard/ |title=Harvard Leaders Stay Quiet on Divest, Even During 'Heat Week' | News | The Harvard Crimson |website=Thecrimson.com |access-date=21 May 2016}} Following Heat Week, Divest Harvard carried out an unannounced one-day civil disobedience blockade of the Harvard president's office in protest of continued lack of action by the Harvard administration.{{cite news|first=Steve |last=Annear |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/13/harvard-students-block-doorway-school-building-protest/ezlByngZrjWZ8TpJkfCyRI/story.html |title=Harvard students block doorway to school building in protest |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=13 May 2015 |access-date=21 May 2016}}

In November 2019, at the annual Harvard-Yale football game, over 150 Harvard and Yale students stormed the field at halftime to demand divestment and the immediate cancellation of holdings in Puerto Rican debt, delaying the start of the second half by over 45 minutes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/yale-harvard-football-game-interrupted-climate-protesters-storming-field-n1090166|title=Yale-Harvard football game disrupted by climate protesters storming field|website=NBC News|date=23 November 2019 |language=en|access-date=23 November 2019}} The event was a joint protest led by Divest Harvard and the Yale Endowment Justice Coalition, and drew extensive coverage from news outlets and on social media, accompanied by the hashtag '#NobodyWins'.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/nobody-wins-climate-protesters-disrupt-harvard-yale-football-game|title=Washington Examiner|website=twitter.com|date=23 November 2019|access-date=24 November 2019}}{{cite web| url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/25/harvard-and-yale-are-complicit-in-the-climate-crisis-its-time-for-them-to-divest| title = Why we risked arrest to protest Harvard and Yale funding fossil fuel giants {{!}} Ilana Cohen and Camilla Ledezma {{!}} The Guardian| website = TheGuardian.com| date = 25 November 2019}}

In an email to Harvard affiliates on 9 September 2021, University President Lawrence S. Bacow announced that Harvard would allow its remaining fossil fuel investments to expire.{{Cite web|title=Harvard Will Move to Divest its Endowment from Fossil Fuels {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/9/10/divest-declares-victory/|access-date=2021-09-10|website=www.thecrimson.com}} While Bacow stopped short of calling it a "divestment", the decision was widely seen as a concession to student activists. Divest Harvard described the decision as a "massive victory for our community, the climate movement, and the world—and a strike against the power of the fossil fuel industry."{{Cite web |last=Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard |title=Harvard is Finally Divesting from Fossil Fuels |url=https://twitter.com/divestharvard/status/1436107146064654348 |access-date=2021-09-10 |website=Twitter |language=en}}

{{Primary sources|section about MIT|date=November 2016}}

Fossil Free MIT (FFMIT) was a student organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made up of MIT undergrads, graduate students, post-docs, faculty, staff and alumni.{{cite web |url=http://www.fossilfreemit.org/who-we-are/ |title=About Us; Fossil Free MIT webpage |website=fossilfreemit.org |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107155729/http://www.fossilfreemit.org/who-we-are/ |url-status=dead }} The group was formed in Fall 2012 by six MIT students following a visit to Boston by Bill McKibben of 350.org on his "Do the Math" tour.{{cite web |url=http://www.fossilfreemit.org/history-of-ffmit-our-campaign/ |title=History of FFMIT and Our Campaign; Fossil Free MIT webpage |website=fossilfreemit.org |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107161142/http://www.fossilfreemit.org/history-of-ffmit-our-campaign/ |url-status=dead }} The group has collected over 3,500 signatures in a petition calling for MIT to (1) immediately freeze new investments in fossil fuel companies, and (2) divest within five years from current holdings in these companies.{{cite web |url=http://www.fossilfreemit.org/the-petition/ |title=Sign the Petition!; Fossil Free MIT webpage |website=fossilfreemit.org |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112124941/http://www.fossilfreemit.org/the-petition/ |url-status=dead }}

Following discussions with FFMIT, the university administration initiated a "campus-wide conversation" on climate change to take place from November 2014 to May 2015, which included the formation of the MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee.{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/climateaction/ClimateActionPlanTimeline-2015Oct21.pdf/ |title=Timeline: Creation of MIT Plan for Action on Climate Change |website=climateaction.mit.edu |date=October 2015 |access-date=7 November 2016}} The committee, composed of 13 faculty, staff, and students, was charged with engaging the MIT community to determine how the university could address climate change and with offering recommendations.{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/vpr/climate/MIT_Climate_Change_Conversation_Report_2015.pdf |title=Report of the MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee: MIT and the Climate Challenge |website=climateaction.mit.edu |date=June 2015 |access-date=7 November 2016}} The conversation included solicitation of ideas and opinions of MIT community members, as well as a number of public events. The largest event was a fossil fuel divestment debate among six prominent voices on climate change that was attended by approximately 500 people.

The committee released a report in June 2015, recommending a number of initiatives to be undertaken by the university. In regards to fossil fuel divestment, the committee "rejected the idea of blanket divestment from all fossil fuel companies"; although there was "support by (three-quarter) majority of the committee for targeted divestment from companies whose operations are heavily focused on the exploration for and/or extraction of the fossil fuels that are least compatible with mitigating climate change, for example coal and tar sands."

Following the campus-wide conversation, on 21 October 2015, President L. Rafael Reif announced the MIT Plan for Action on Climate Change. While the plan enacted many of the committee's recommendations, the university administration chose not to divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies, stating that "divestment ... is incompatible with the strategy of engagement with industry to solve problems that is at the heart of today's plan."{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/climateaction/ClimateChangeStatement-2015Oct21.pdf |title=A Plan for Action on Climate Change |website=climateaction.mit.edu |date=21 October 2015 |access-date=7 November 2016}}

The following day, Fossil Free MIT began a sit-in outside the office of the President to protest the shortcomings of the plan, including the rejection of divestment.{{cite web |author=Fossil Free MIT |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V135/N29/fossilfree.html |title=MIT's Climate Plan doesn't add up. So we're sitting-in.; News; The Tech |website=Tech.mit |date=29 October 2015 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107161238/http://tech.mit.edu/V135/N29/fossilfree.html |url-status=dead }} Over 100 people overall participated in the sit-in, which received coverage by multiple news outlets, including the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and the Daily Caller.{{cite web |url=http://www.fossilfreemit.org/news/ |title=In the News; Fossil Free MIT webpage |website=fossilfreemit.org |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107155822/http://www.fossilfreemit.org/news/ |url-status=dead }} The sit-in, which lasted 116 days, ended officially with an agreement with Vice President for Research Maria Zuber following negotiations about how to improve the Plan. The agreement did not include divestment, but succeeded in establishing a climate advisory committee and a climate ethics forum. In addition, the administration agreed to strengthen the university's carbon mitigation commitments, striving for carbon neutrality "as soon as possible".{{cite web |first=Vivian |last=Zhong |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V136/N6/sitin.html |title=Fossil Free MIT ends sit-in after agreement; News; The Tech |website=Tech.mit |date=3 March 2015 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107161350/http://tech.mit.edu/V136/N6/sitin.html |url-status=dead }}

In 2019, the divestment campaign at MIT was restarted by a new student-led group, MIT Divest.{{Cite web|title=MIT DIVEST|url=https://www.mit-divest.com/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=MIT DIVEST|language=en-US}} One of their projects has been to engage the MIT administration in a public dialogue about the effectiveness of the 2015 MIT Climate Action Plan and set goals for MIT's next iteration of the Climate Action Plan set to be released in 2021.[https://climate.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2020-05/MTZ%20MIT%20Divest%20memo%2005_16_2020.pdf Response to "Request for information to the MIT Administration regarding the Institute's relations to fossil fuel companies."] Memo from Maria T. Zuber, MIT Vice President for Research, to MIT Divest. May 16, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Evaluating Dr. Maria Zuber's Response to MIT Divest's Information Request|url=https://climate.mit.edu/posts/evaluating-dr-maria-zubers-response-mit-divests-information-request|access-date=2020-11-27|website=MIT Climate Portal|language=en}}

The biggest part of fossil fuel divestment commitments come from faith organizations – 350 from 1,300. On 18 May 2020, 42 faith organizations declared that they are divesting from fossil fuels. They called for a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Catholic organisations with US$40 billion in assets joined Catholic Impact Investing Pledge.{{cite web |title=Faith institutions call for a just recovery by divesting from fossil fuels |url=https://350.org/press-release/faith-institutions-call-for-a-just-recovery-by-divesting-from-fossil-fuels/ |website=350.org |access-date=19 May 2020}}

In 2020 the Catholic Church published a manual called "Journeying Towards Care For Our Common Home" that explains to Catholics how to divest from institutions considered to be harmful by the Catholic Church. Those include fossil fuels, child labour, and weapons. The Vatican Bank claims that it is not investing in fossil fuels with many other Catholic organisations. Pope Francis has called for climate action for many years. He published a call to stop the climate crisis named Laudato si'.{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Jordan |title=Vatican Asks Catholics to Ditch Fossil Fuel Investments |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/vatican-fossil-fuels-divest-2646208168.html |access-date=23 June 2020 |agency=Ecowatch |date=19 June 2020}}

{{Reduced pull quote|1=right

|2=It is clear the transition to a clean energy future is inevitable, beneficial and well underway, and that investors have a key role to play.

|3=Ban Ki-moon|4=secretary-general of the United Nations (2016).

{{cite news

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| title = Fossil fuel divestment funds double to $5tn in a year

| date = 12 December 2016

| work = The Guardian

| location = London, United Kingdom

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| url = https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/12/fossil-fuel-divestment-funds-double-5tn-in-a-year

| access-date = 12 December 2016

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A number of individuals and organisations have voiced support for fossil fuel divestment including:

• Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations
• Ed Davey
• Leonardo DiCaprio{{cite news|title = Actor DiCaprio joins growing movement to divest from fossil fuels|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-energy-divestment-idUSKCN0RM2PZ20150922|newspaper = Reuters|date = 22 September 2015|access-date = 14 February 2016}}
• Bianca Jagger
• Barack Obama
• Yotam Ottolenghi
• Tilda Swinton

In March 2015 Mary Robinson, Ban Ki-moon's special envoy on climate change and former Irish President stated, "it is almost a due diligence requirement to consider ending investment in dirty energy companies".{{cite web|title=UN climate envoy backs fossil fuel divestment movement|url=http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/20/un-climate-envoy-backs-fossil-fuel-divestment-movement/|website=rtcc.org|access-date=24 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095729/http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/20/un-climate-envoy-backs-fossil-fuel-divestment-movement/|archive-date=2 April 2015}}

Desmond Tutu has voiced support for fossil fuel divestment and compared it to divestment from South Africa in protest of apartheid.

{{blockquote|We must stop climate change. And we can, if we use the tactics that worked in South Africa against the worst carbon emitters{{nbsp}}... Throughout my life I have believed that the only just response to injustice is what Mahatma Gandhi termed "passive resistance". During the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, using boycotts, divestment and sanctions, and supported by our friends overseas, we were not only able to apply economic pressure on the unjust state, but also serious moral pressure.|Desmond Tutu{{cite web|title=We need an apartheid-style boycott to save the planet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/10/divest-fossil-fuels-climate-change-keystone-xl|website=The Guardian|date=10 April 2014|access-date=24 March 2015}}}}

In September 2020, 12 mayors from the C40 Cities coalition issued an open declaration in support of fossil fuel divestment, entitled "Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in a Sustainable Future".{{Cite web|title=C40 : Divest / Invest|url=https://www.c40.org/divest-invest|access-date=2020-11-27|website=www.c40.org}}

A prominent speaker at the 5th annual World Pensions & Investments Forum held in December 2015, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs voiced for institutional investors to take their fiduciary responsibility in reducing the risk of losses via fossil fuel divestment.{{cite news|first1=Andrew|last1=Pearce|title= Jeffrey Sachs: Fund Managers Have a Duty to Dump Fossil Fuels|url=http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2015-12-07/sachs222 |access-date=16 December 2015|work=Financial News|date=6 December 2015}}

File:Harvard fossil fuel divestment petition.jpg

In February 2015 alumni of Harvard University including Natalie Portman, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Darren Aronofsky and Susan Faludi wrote an open letter to Harvard University demanding that it divest its $35.9 billion endowment from coal, gas, and oil companies.

{{Blockquote|Those students have done a remarkable job in garnering overwhelming student support for divestment, and the faculty too have delivered a strong message. But so far [Harvard] has not just refused to divest, they've doubled down by announcing the decision to buy stock in some of the dirtiest energy companies on the planet.|Open letter to Harvard university from notable alumni, 2014|{{cite magazine|last1=Atler|first1=Charlotte|title=Natalie Portman Joins Calls for Harvard to Sell Off Stocks in Big Energy Firms|url=https://time.com/3716410/natalie-portman-harvard-divest-stocks-energy/|magazine=Time|access-date=27 March 2015|date=20 February 2015}}}}

Harvard's decision not to divest was explained in an open letter from the University President, Drew Faust:

{{Blockquote|Divestment is likely to have negligible financial impact on the affected companies. And such a strategy would diminish the influence or voice we might have with this industry. Divestment pits concerned citizens and institutions against companies that have enormous capacity and responsibility to promote progress toward a more sustainable future.{{cite news|last1=Faust|first1=Drew|title=Fossil fuel divestment statement|url=http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=18 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818095626/http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels|url-status=dead}}}}On 23 November 2019, at the annual Harvard-Yale football game, about 200 supporters of divestment took over the field to protest Harvard and Yale's inaction on divestment, disrupting game play for about 30 minutes.{{cite news|title=Activists Disrupt Harvard-Yale Rivalry Game To Protest Climate Change|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/24/782427425/activists-disrupt-harvard-yale-rivalry-game-to-protest-climate-change|access-date=2020-11-27|newspaper=NPR|date=24 November 2019|language=en|last1=Gringlas|first1=Sam}} Legal charges against ten Harvard students involved in the protest were later dismissed.{{Cite web|title=Judge Annuls Harvard-Yale Divestment Protesters' Charges {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/1/28/Judge-Annuls-Divest-Harvard-Yale-Protesters/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=www.thecrimson.com}}

On 4 February 2020, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted 179–20 in favor of a motion demanding that the Harvard Corporation divest its endowment from fossil fuels.{{Cite web|title=Harvard Faculty Vote in Favor of Divestment 179-20 {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/2/5/faculty-vote-support-divestment/|access-date=2020-11-28|website=www.thecrimson.com}}

In 2020, three candidates for the Harvard Board of Overseers were elected on a platform of climate action and social justice, with fossil fuel divestment at the center of their campaign.{{Cite web|title=Harvard Alumni: Help Move Harvard Forward|url=https://www.harvardforward.org/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=Harvard Forward|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Divestment Groups Cheer Harvard Forward Victories in Overseers Election {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/8/23/divestment-groups-cheer-overseers-victory/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=www.thecrimson.com}}

The University of Glasgow became the first university in Europe to agree to divest from fossil fuels. The NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden commented:

{{Blockquote|I am proud to offer my support and endorsement for Climate Action Society's fossil fuels divestment campaign. By confronting the threat of unsustainable energy use and exploration to our planetary habitat, the students of Glasgow University do a public service for all families of today and tomorrow.|Edward Snowden{{cite web|last1=Wigglesworth|first1=Sam|title=Edward Snowden comes out in support of divestment|url=http://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2014/10/09/edward-snowden-comes-out-in-support-of-divestment/|work=Glasgow Guardian|date=9 October 2014|access-date=29 March 2015}}}}

Governments and pension funds in the United States that have partially or entirely divested or that have taken steps toward divestment include (listed alphabetically):

• Amherst, Cambridge, Northampton, Provincetown and Truro, Massachusetts – by 2014, city councils or town meetings in these municipalities passed resolutions calling on pension managers to divest from fossil fuels.David Scharfenberg, [http://www.wbur.org/2014/03/14/mass-fossil-fuel-divestment Mass. Emerges as Hub of Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement], WBUR (March 2014).
• Ann Arbor, Michigan – in October 2013, after several rounds of consideration, the city council voted 9–2 to approve a nonbinding resolution requesting that the City of Ann Arbor Employees' Retirement System board cease new investments in the top 100 coal and top 100 gas and oil extraction companies and divest current such investments within five years.[http://annarborchronicle.com/2013/10/22/ann-arbor-oks-fossil-fuel-divestment/index.html Ann Arbor OKs Fossil Fuel Divestment], Ann Arbor Chronicle (22 October 2013).
• Berkeley, California – in 2013, the City Council voted to adopt an official policy of divesting city funds from direct ownership of publicly traded fossil-fuel companies; the city aims to complete the divestment process within the next five years.Andrew Dickey, [http://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/07/berkeley-city-council-votes-to-divest-from-fossil-fuel-companies/ Berkeley City Council votes to divest from fossil fuel companies], Daily Californian (8 July 2013).
• Boston, Massachusetts — In November 2021, the Boston City Council voted unanimously to fully divest city funds from the fossil fuel industry by 2025. The ordinance will cover all city treasury investments, including infrastructure. However, pension investments will not be covered, as they are governed by state law.{{Cite web|title=Boston City Council says no to fossil fuel investments - The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/17/metro/council-says-no-fossil-fuel-investments/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US}}
• Burlington, Vermont – in December 2014, the Burlington City Council unanimously approved conducting the study of possible divestment from major fossil-fuel companies. A task force of city councilors, retirement board members, public employee representatives, and others was appointed to research the proposal and make recommendations for the city's retirement board within one year.Associated Press, [http://www.wcax.com/story/27525965/burlington-to-study-fossil-fuel-divestment Burlington to study fossil fuel divestment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214073857/http://www.wcax.com/story/27525965/burlington-to-study-fossil-fuel-divestment |date=14 February 2015 }} (4 December 2014).
• Denver, Colorado – in April 2019, Mayor Michael Hancock announced that the City and County of Denver would divest its fossil fuel interests.{{Cite web|last=Woodruff|first=Chase|title=Denver Completes Divestment From Fossil Fuel Companies|url=https://www.westword.com/news/denver-completes-divestment-from-fossil-fuel-companies-11320444|access-date=2021-10-27|website=Westword|language=en}}
• Eugene, Oregon – the City Council unanimously voted in January 2014 to take up the fossil-fuel issue at a future meeting.Jes Burns, [http://klcc.org/post/eugene-take-closer-look-fossil-fuel-divestment-options Eugene to Take Closer Look at Fossil Fuel Divestment Options], KLCC (13 January 2014).
• Ithaca, New York – in 2013, Mayor Svante Myrick stated that the city did not have any investments in fossil fuels and would not make any such investment for as long as he was mayor. Myrick also encouraged the pension funds of the New York State and Local Retirement System, overseen by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, to divest.Erica Augenstein, [http://cornellsun.com/blog/2013/04/23/mayor-svante-myrick-09-city-of-ithaca-to-join-movement-for-divestment/ Mayor Svante Myrick '09: City of Ithaca to Join Movement for Divestment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518175153/http://cornellsun.com/blog/2013/04/23/mayor-svante-myrick-09-city-of-ithaca-to-join-movement-for-divestment/ |date=18 May 2015 }}, Cornell Daily Sun (23 April 2013).
• Madison, Wisconsin – in July 2013, the city adopted a resolution declaring that it is the policy of the City of Madison not to invest in fossil-fuel companies. The resolution does not apply to the Madison Metropolitan School District (whose cash balances the city invests) or two municipal mutual insurance corporations of which the city is a part-owner. Mayor Paul Soglin and most city council members introduced the resolution.Jeff Glaze, [http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/paul-soglin-joins-other-mayors-in-push-to-divest-fossil/article_a3dbec89-e915-55c6-a654-4ec01d3d54ef.html Soglin joins other mayors in push to divest fossil fuel holdings], Wisconsin State Journal (25 April 2013).[https://madison.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1427821&GUID=2C7A0154-BC10-414C-AD17-7BB9E1DEDC2D&FullText=1 City of Madison Resolution: Divestment of Fossil Fuels by City of Madison] (enacted 7 March 2013)
• Maine – in June 2021, the Maine Legislature voted to pass L.D. 99, 80–57 in the House and 18–15 in the Senate along party lines, mandating that the state government and pension fund divest from fossil fuel companies by January 2026. This comes to $70 million and $1.2 billion, respectively. This makes Maine the first US state to mandate such a divestment.{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Kevin|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/11/landmark-bill-passed-by-both-maine-house-and-senate-seeks-to-sell-off-fossil-fuel-investments/|title=Landmark bill passed by House and Senate seeks to sell off Maine's fossil fuel investments|website=Portland Press Herald|access-date=14 June 2021|date=11 June 2021}}
• New York City – in January 2018, New York City announced it will divest {{US$|5 billion}} from fossil fuels interests over the next five years. In addition, the city is filing lawsuits against BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell for costs the city faces in relation to climate change.

{{cite news| last1 = Milman | first1 = Oliver| title = New York City plans to divest $5bn from fossil fuels and sue oil companies| date = 10 January 2018| work = The Guardian| location = London, United Kingdom| issn = 0261-3077| url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/10/new-york-city-plans-to-divest-5bn-from-fossil-fuels-and-sue-oil-companies| access-date = 10 January 2018}}

• Providence, Rhode Island – in June 2013, the City Council voted 11–1 to enact a resolution directing the city's board of investment commissioners to divest from the world's largest coal, oil and gas companies within five years, and to not make any new investments in such firms.Alex Kuffner, [http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130621-providence-city-council-votes-to-divest-from-fossil-fuel-companies.ece Providence City Council votes to divest from fossil-fuel companies], Providence Journal (21 June 2013).
• San Francisco, California – in 2013, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution urging managers of San Francisco Employees' Retirement System to divest from fossil fuels; in March 2015, the board of the retirement system voted to begin "level-two engagement", a step toward divestment.Aaron Sankin, [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/san-francisco-fossil-fuel-divestment_n_3158012.html San Francisco Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement Takes Its First Steps Against Big Oil], Huffington Post (25 April 2013).Emily Green, [http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-pension-board-takes-step-toward-ditching-6128813.php S.F. pension board takes step toward ditching fossil fuel funds], San Francisco Chronicle (11 March 2015).
• Santa Monica, California – committed to divestment in 2013 and completed its divestment (of about $700,000) within one year.Rebecca Beitsch, [http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/5/12/state-lawmakers-push-pensions-to-divest-fossil-fuel-holdings State Lawmakers Push Pensions to Divest Fossil Fuel Holdings], Pew Charitable Trusts (12 May 2015).
• Seattle, Washington – Mayor pledged to divest in 2012, but city and pension fund have not completed process.Jared Howe, [http://www.theurbanist.org/2014/03/05/is-seattle-really-committed-to-fossil-fuel-divestment/ Is Seattle Really Committed to Fossil Fuel Divestment?], The Urbanist (5 March 2014).Suzanne Goldenberg, [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/25/us-cities-climate-divestment-fossil-fuels San Francisco and Seattle lead US cities pulling funds from fossil fuel firms], Guardian (25 April 2013).
• Somerville, Massachusetts – The city's retirement board voted in 2017 to move 4.5% of its portfolio into a fund that does not include fossil fuel companies. Shortly after that, the divestment action was blocked by the state's public pension oversight board on the grounds of fiduciary responsibility (although a 2019 analysis found that the divested version of the fund would have had a substantially higher return than the fund that included fossil fuels).{{Cite web|last=AP|first=Arnold Gold / New Haven Register via|title=Massachusetts divestment movement seeks to capitalize on fossil fuels' decline|url=https://energynews.us/2019/12/03/northeast/massachusetts-divestment-movement-seeks-to-capitalize-on-fossil-fuels-decline/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=Energy News Network|date=3 December 2019|language=en-US}} Since then, efforts to allow home rule petitions and a state bill giving Massachusetts towns greater control over divestment actions continue.{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://massdivest.org/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=MassDivest.org|language=en-US}}
• Washington, D.C. – in June 2016, the City Council along with DC Divest announced that the District's $6.4 billion retirement fund had divested from direct holdings in the top 200 fossil fuel companies in the world.{{Cite web|url=https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062016/washington-dc-pension-fund-announces-divestment|title=Washington D.C. adds its largest public pension to the fossil fuel divestment movement|date=6 June 2016|access-date=24 July 2016}}

File:Fossil Fuel Divestment Student Protest at Tufts University.jpg

Colleges and universities which have wholly or partially divested, or which have taken steps toward divestment include (listed alphabetically):

• American University (Washington, D.C.){{cite web |title=American U Divests From Fossil Fuels {{!}} Inside Higher Ed |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/04/22/american-u-divests-fossil-fuels |website=www.insidehighered.com |language=en}}
• Brandeis University (Waltham, Massachusetts){{cite web |title=Advancing and Deepening Brandeis' Commitment to Sustainability |url=https://www.brandeis.edu/president/letters/2021-10-06-advancing-and-deepening-brandeis-commitment-to-sustainability.html |website=Brandeis University}}
• Brevard College (Brevard, North Carolina, US) – in February 2015, the college's board of trustees approved a resolution to divest the college's $25 million endowment from fossil fuels by 2018. When the decision was made, about $600,000 (4%) of the college's portfolio was invested in fossil fuels. The college became the first institution of higher education in the Southeastern United States to divest from fossil fuel.Tonya Maxwell, [http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/02/20/brevard-college-divests-coal-first-southeast/23760715/ Brevard College divests from coal; first in Southeast], Asheville Citizen-Times (20 February 2015).Jeremiah Reed, [http://www.transylvaniatimes.com/story/2015/02/23/news/brevard-college-to-no-longer-invest-in-fossil-fuels-brevard-nc/21688.html Brevard College to No Longer Invest in Fossil Fuels], Transylvania Times (23 February 2015).
• Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island, US){{cite web |title=Brown sells 90 percent of fossil fuel investments {{!}} Brown Daily Herald |url=https://www.browndailyherald.com/2020/03/04/brown-sells-90-percent-fossil-fuel-investments/ |website=www.browndailyherald.com |language=en}}
• California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, California, US) – in December 2014, CalArts announced that it would immediately reduce the institute's investments in fossil-fuel stocks by 25% (reallocating about $3.6 million in its portfolio) and would continue not to make direct investments in fossil fuel. The institute also announced that it would "actively monitor the Institute's remaining carbon exposure and consider strategies that will continue to reduce the Institute's investments in fossil fuel companies, including seeking to eliminate exposure to the most carbon-intensive companies such as coal producers over the next five years."[http://blog.calarts.edu/2014/12/23/calarts-moves-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels/ CalArts Moves to Divest From Fossil Fuels] (press release), California Institute of the Arts (23 December 2014).
• California State University, Chico (Chico, California, US) – in December 2014, the board of governors of the Chico State University Foundation, which manages the university's endowment, voted to change its investment policy and divest of holdings in fossil fuel companies. At the time the policy was adopted, the foundation had "no direct holdings in fossil-fuel companies and just under 2 percent of its portfolio in managed funds that include fossil fuel investments." The vote calls for excluding any direct investment in the top 200 fossil fuel companies and liquidating, within four years, all holdings in managed funds that include investments in fossil fuel companies.[http://www.csuchico.edu/news/current-news/12-12-14-divestment.shtml University Foundation Board Approves Divestment of Fossil Fuel Holdings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094136/http://www.csuchico.edu/news/current-news/12-12-14-divestment.shtml |date=18 May 2015 }} (press release), California State University, Chico (12 December 2014).Laura Matthews, [http://www.foundationendowment.com/Article/3411358/Chico-State-Foundation-Approves-Fossil-Fuel-Divestment.html Chico State Foundation Approves Fossil Fuel Divestment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227120815/http://www.foundationendowment.com/Article/3411358/Chico-State-Foundation-Approves-Fossil-Fuel-Divestment.html |date=27 February 2017 }}, Foundation & Endowment Intelligence (17 December 2014).
• Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) — in November 2021, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) announced that it had divested the remaining $3 million fossil fuel-related investments on the public side of its portfolio. At the time of this announcement, CWRU's president, Eric Kaler, and the board of trustees reiterated a commitment to completely divest the remaining ~$50 million in private holdings over the next several years, as contractual obligations expire. CWRU has had a policy prohibiting new investments in fossil fuel companies and fossil fuel related funds dating back to 2017.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-30|title=Divestment of Fossil Fuel Holdings: November 30, 2021|url=https://case.edu/president/speeches-statements/divestment-fossil-fuel-holdings-november-30-2021|access-date=2021-12-04|website=Office of the President {{!}} Case Western Reserve University|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Banerjee|first=Shreyas|title=CWRU completes fossil fuel divestment from its public holdings|url=https://observer.case.edu/cwru-completes-fossil-fuel-divestment-from-its-public-holdings/|access-date=2021-12-04|website=The Observer}}
• College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine, US) – in March 2013, the college's board of trustees voted to divest from fossil-fuel companies. About $1 million of the college's $30 million endowment was invested in such companies.Associated Press, [https://archive.today/20160503103152/http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2014/03/15/2094768/ College of the Atlantic sells its fossil fuel investments] (13 March 2013).
• College of the Marshall Islands (Marshall Islands) – in December 2014 and January 2015, the college announced that its board of regents would be adopting a policy statement divising its small endowment (about $1 million) from fossil fuels.Giff Johnson, [http://pacificpolicy.org/2015/01/do-pacific-islands-need-to-walk-the-talk-on-climate/ Do Pacific islands need to 'walk the talk' on climate?], Pacific Institute of Public Policy (29 January 2015).[http://www.samoanews.com/content/en/first-college-pacific-islands-divests-fossil-fuels First college in the Pacific Islands divests from fossil fuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518072350/http://www.samoanews.com/content/en/first-college-pacific-islands-divests-fossil-fuels |date=18 May 2015 }}, Samoa News (20 December 2014).
• Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, US) – in May 2020, the board of trustees voted to divest from fossil fuels by instituting a moratorium on new private investment focused on fossil fuels. Investments are expected to grow in alternative and renewable energy portfolios. The committee's vote includes ending all current investments in fossil fuels over the next five to seven years.[https://cornellsun.com/2020/05/22/cornell-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels-trustees-vote/ Cornell to Divest from Fossil Fuels, Trustees Vote] The Cornell Daily Sun (22 May 2020).
• Foothill–De Anza Community College District (Foothill College and De Anza College in Cupertino, California, US) – the foundation's board of directors voted in October 2013 to divest from the top 200 fossil-fuel companies by June 2014, becoming the first community college foundation in the nation to commit to fossil-fuel divestment.{{Cite web |title=De Anza College :: News @ De Anza :: Foundation votes for fossil fuel divesture |url=http://deanza.edu/news/2013fossildivest.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20170805102702/http://deanza.edu/news/2013fossildivest.html |archive-date=2017-08-05 |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=deanza.edu |language=en}}[http://ccdaily.com/Pages/Funding/Calif-college-foundation-to-divest-of-fossil-fuels.aspx Calif. college foundation to divest of fossil fuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226195646/http://ccdaily.com/Pages/Funding/Calif-college-foundation-to-divest-of-fossil-fuels.aspx |date=26 February 2017 }}, Community College Daily (28 October 2013).
• George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) – in June 2020, the college's board of trustees voted to divest from fossil fuels, which make up about 3% of the college's endowment.{{Cite web|last=Murillo|first=Mike|date=2020-06-30|title=GWU becomes latest DC university to promise divestment from fossil fuels|url=https://wtop.com/dc/2020/06/gw-becomes-latest-dc-university-to-promise-divestment-from-fossil-fuels/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=WTOP|language=en}}
• Goddard College (Plainfield, Vermont, US) – in January 2015, the college announced that it had completed its divestment, moving all of its endowment funds into fossil fuel-free accounts, becoming the third college in Vermont to do so.[http://www.goddard.edu/2015/01/goddard-college-divests/ Goddard College Divests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821214544/http://www.goddard.edu/2015/01/goddard-college-divests/ |date=21 August 2016 }} (press release), Goddard College (14 January 2015).John Herrick, [http://vtdigger.org/2015/01/19/goddard-college-divests-fossil-fuels/ Goddard College divests from fossil fuels], VTDigger (19 January 2015).
• Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont, US) – in May 2013, the college's board of trustees approved immediate divestment from the top 200 publicly traded fossil-fuel companies. Such investments made up about 1% of the college's $3.1 million endowment.[http://www.greenmtn.edu/news_events/new_releases/green-mountain-college-board-approves-divestment-of-fossil-fuel-holdings.aspx Green Mountain College Board Approves Divestment of Fossil Fuel Holdings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518101557/http://www.greenmtn.edu/news_events/new_releases/green-mountain-college-board-approves-divestment-of-fossil-fuel-holdings.aspx |date=18 May 2015 }} (press release), Green Mountain College (14 May 2013).Peter Rothberg, [http://www.thenation.com/blog/174394/green-mountain-college-divest-fossil-fuels Green Mountain College to Divest From Fossil Fuels], The Nation (16 May 2013).
• Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts, US) – in December 2011, in the college's board of trustees approved a new environmental, social, and governance investing policy which called for "negligible fossil fuel holdings in our portfolio." The college announced in October 2012 that it had nearly completed the implementation of this policy.[https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2012/10/19/hampshire%C2%92s-policy-on-environmental-social-and-governance-investing Hampshire's Policy on Environmental, Social and Governance Investing] (press release), Hampshire College (19 October 2012).Justin Gillisdec, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/business/energy-environment/to-fight-climate-change-college-students-take-aim-at-the-endowment-portfolio.html To Stop Climate Change, Students Aim at College Portfolios], New York Times (4 December 2012).
• Humboldt State University (Arcata, California, US) – since at least 2004, the university has had no direct investments in fossil fuel-related industries.[http://now.humboldt.edu/news/humboldt-state-university-targets-fossil-fuels-and-more/ Humboldt State University Targets Fossil Fuels and More] (press release), Humboldt State University (30 April 2014). In April 2014, the Humboldt State University Advancement Foundation, which oversees the university's endowment, unanimously adopted a new "environmentally responsible offset and mitigation policy" and "Humboldt Investment Pledge" to strictly limit its holdings in a variety of industries, including companies directly or indirectly involved in fossil fuels.[http://now.humboldt.edu/news/humboldt-state-university-helps-lead-push-for-fossil-free-greener-investing/ Humboldt State University Helps Lead Push for Fossil-Free, Greener Investing] (press release), Humboldt State University (26 November 2014). In October 2014, the foundation's board voted to shift 10% of its overall portfolio to "green funds" (funds with no holdings in fossil fuels or similar sectors) over the next year, reiterated its policy against direct investments in fossil fuels, and committed to creating a new fund invested entirely free of fossil fuels, with the distributions from the fund earmarked for campus-based sustainability projects.
• Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland, US) – In December 2017, the Board of Trustees voted to eliminate investments in companies that produce coal for electric power as a major part of their business.[https://hub.jhu.edu/2017/12/12/thermal-coal-divestment-board-vote/ Johns Hopkins University to divest holdings in major coal producers ], JHU Press Release (13 December 2017).
• Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Oregon, US) – in February 2018 the Board of trustees unanimously voted to divest from all fossil fuel holdings in the school endowment.[https://www.lclark.edu/live/news/38199-board-of-trustees-votes-to-divest-from-fossil Board of Trustees Votes to Divest From Fossil Fuels ], (Retrieved 13 February 2018).
• Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont, US) – in January 2019, the board of trustees of Middlebury College unanimously voted to pass Energy2028, therefore agreeing to divest all direct holdings in the fossil fuel industry.{{Cite web|url=http://www.middlebury.edu/sustainability/our-commitment/energy2028|title=Energy2028|website=Middlebury|language=en|access-date=13 August 2019}} The plan defines these investments broadly, including "all those in enterprises whose core industry is oil and gas exploration and/or production, coal mining, oil and gas equipment, services and/or pipelines."{{Cite web|url=http://www.middlebury.edu/sustainability/our-commitment/energy2028/faqs|title=Frequently Asked Questions|website=Middlebury|language=en|access-date=13 August 2019}} The vote came after years of organizing by the student-run Divest Middlebury campaign.{{Cite web|url=https://middleburycampus.com/42896/news/middlebury-moves-to-divest-as-part-of-new-energy2028-plan/|title=Middlebury Moves to Divest as Part of New Energy2028 Plan|last=POUX|first=SABINE|website=The Middlebury Campus|access-date=13 August 2019}}
• Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, California, US) – in February 2015, the seminary's board of trustees voted unanimously to divest the institution from the 200 largest fossil-fuel companies (those listed on the Carbon Tracker Initiative (CT200)).[http://www.psr.edu/news/pacific-school-religion-first-seminary-california-divest-fossil-fuels Pacific School of Religion First Seminary in California to Divest in Fossil Fuels] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308200315/http://www.psr.edu/news/pacific-school-religion-first-seminary-california-divest-fossil-fuels |date=8 March 2015 }} (press release), Pacific School of Religion (25 February 2015).
• San Francisco State University (San Francisco, California, US) – in 2013, the San Francisco State University Foundation, which oversees the university's $51.2 million endowment, voted to make no new investments that would involve "direct ownership of companies with significant exposure to production or use of coal and tar sands." This was the first public university or college to do any fossil fuel divestment. The foundation also voted to look into future divestment from all fossil-fuel companies.Associated Press, [http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23443908/san-francsico-state-university-votes-divest-investment-coal San Francisco State University votes to divest investment in coal, tar sands] (12 June 2013).Laura Dudnick, [http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/sf-state-joins-campaign-to-divest-money-from-fossil-fuels/Content?oid=2757805 SF State joins campaign to divest money from fossil fuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404020225/http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/sf-state-joins-campaign-to-divest-money-from-fossil-fuels/Content?oid=2757805 |date=4 April 2015 }}, San Francisco Examiner (8 April 2013).
• Seattle University (Seattle, Washington, US) – in September 2018, following student group pressure Seattle University is the first university in Washington state to divest its endowment of fossil fuels over the next five years. The action means that by 2023, Seattle University will no longer invest any of its $230 million endowment in the funds and securities of fossil-fuel companies. The university will work to achieve a 50 percent reduction by 31 December 2020, and expects to be fully divested by 30 June 2023. "The moral imperative for action is clear", said Seattle U President Stephen Sundborg in an announcement. "By taking this step we are acting boldly and making an important statement ... We join with others also at the forefront of the growing divestment movement and hope our action encourages more to do the same". Seattle U also becomes the first among the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities to divest. "It's definitely a victory for us", said student Connor Crinion, a member of Sustainable Student Action, the student group that has pushed for divestment since 2012. "We're hoping this might be a milestone" that will encourage divestment at other schools in Washington, as well as at other Jesuit universities, he said [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-university-says-it-will-become-first-college-in-state-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels/ Seattle University will become first college in state to divest of fossil fuels].
• Stanford University (Stanford, California, US) – in May 2014, following an advisory panel's recommendation, the university's board of trustees voted to divest the investment portfolio of its $18.7 billion endowment of companies "whose principal business is coal". This made Stanford the "first major university to lend support to a nationwide campaign to purge endowments and pension funds of fossil fuel investments."Michael Wines, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/education/stanford-to-purge-18-billion-endowment-of-coal-stock.html Stanford to Purge $18 Billion Endowment of Coal Stock], New York Times (6 May 2014).[http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/may/divest-coal-trustees-050714.html Stanford to divest from coal companies] (press release), Stanford University, 6 May 2014.
• Sterling College (Craftsbury, Vermont, US) – the tiny college's board of trustees voted in February 2013 to divest from the top 200 fossil-fuel companies. The college announced that it had completed divestment of its $920,000 endowment by July 2013, with all of its investments in a fossil-fuel-free portfolio.Kathryn Flagg, [http://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2013/02/05/sterling-college-pledges-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels Sterling College Pledges to Divest From Fossil Fuels], Seven Days (5 February 2013).[http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/news-events/news-archive/sterling-college-completes-fossil-fuel-divestment-endowment-fund/ Sterling College Completes Fossil Fuel Divestment of its Endowment Fund] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518093633/http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/news-events/news-archive/sterling-college-completes-fossil-fuel-divestment-endowment-fund/ |date=18 May 2015 }} (press release), Sterling College (17 July 2013).
• The New School (New York, New York, US) – in February 2015, the New School announced that it would divest from all fossil-fuel investments in coming years. The school said that "it is also reshaping the entire curriculum to focus more on climate change and sustainability."John Schwartz, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/science/the-new-school-takes-a-big-step-beyond-divesting-fossil-fuel-stock.html The New School Divests Fossil Fuel Stock and Refocuses on Climate Change], New York Times (6 February 2015).
• Unity College (Unity, Maine, US) – in 2008, the college's board of trustees asked its endowment-management firm to begin decreasing its exposure to large energy companies (which then made up about 10% of its portfolio). In November 2012, the board of trustees unanimously voted to divest the remainder of its fossil-fuel holdings (then about 3% of its portfolio) over the next five years.[http://www.unity.edu/news/unity-college-reports-no-loss-fossil-fuel-divestment Unity College Reports No Loss from Fossil Fuel Divestment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805101602/http://www.unity.edu/news/unity-college-reports-no-loss-fossil-fuel-divestment |date=5 August 2017 }} (press release), Unity College (1 May 2013).[http://www.unity.edu/about-unity/sustainability-science/fossil-fuel-divestment Divestment: Our Commitment to Fossil Fuel Divestment], Unity College. The college completed divestment in 2014, three years ahead of schedule.Zahra Hirji & Elizabeth Douglass, [http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20032015/map-tracking-academias-fossil-fuel-divestment Map: Tracking Academia's Fossil Fuel Divestment], Inside Climate News (20 March 2015). Unity College was the first institution of higher education in the United States to divest from fossil fuels.Diane Toomey, [http://e360.yale.edu/feature/interview_stephen_mulkey_how_a_small_college_launched_divestment_from_fossil_fuels/2773/ How A Small College Launched Divestment from Fossil Fuels], Environment 360 (9 June 2014).
• University of California (Berkeley, California, US) – In September 2019, the University of California announced it will divest its $83 billion in endowment and pension funds from the fossil fuel industry, citing 'financial risk'.{{cite news|url=https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2019/09/uc-divests-fossil-fuels-citing-finance-renewable-energy-climate-change/|title=Citing 'financial risk,' UC pledges to divest from fossil fuels|last=Mello|first=Felicia|date=18 September 2019|website=CalMatters|language=en-US|access-date=15 October 2019}}
• University of Dayton (Dayton, Ohio, US) – In May 2014, the University of Dayton's board of trustees unanimously approved a plan to begin to divest the university's holdings from the top 200 fossil-fuel companies. At the time of the announcement, about 5% ($35 million) of the university's $670 million investment pool was held in such companies. UD became the first Catholic university in the US to divest from fossil fuels. The plan was publicly announced in June 2014.Chris Stewart, [http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/ud-to-cut-coal-and-fossil-fuel-investments/ngRFD/ UD to cut coal and fossil fuel investments], Dayton Daily News (23 June 2014).[https://www.udayton.edu/news/articles/2014/06/dayton_divests_fossil_fuels.php Dayton Divests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413012643/https://www.udayton.edu/news/articles/2014/06/dayton_divests_fossil_fuels.php |date=13 April 2016 }} (press release), University of Dayton (23 June 2014). The university planned to review its progress in 18 months.Brian Roewe, [http://ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/university-dayton-divests-fossil-fuels University of Dayton divests from fossil fuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626100346/http://ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/university-dayton-divests-fossil-fuels |date=26 June 2015 }}, National Catholic Reporter (24 June 2014).
• University of Maine System (Maine, US) – in January 2015, the board of trustees of the University of Maine System unanimously voted to divest from direct holdings in coal-mining companies. The system's total investments were about $589 million; the decision would affect $502,000 of direct investments in coal, which amounts to about 30% of the system's total ($1.7 million exposure to coal, including both direct and indirect investments). Some board members stated that they would continue to consider full system-wide divestment. Separately, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, one of seven schools within the system, announced that its foundation had divested from all fossil-fuel investments.Robin Respaut, [https://www.reuters.com/article/maine-university-coal-idUSL1N0V62N320150127 University of Maine Board votes to divest from coal], Reuters (27 January 2015).
• University of Massachusetts (Massachusetts, US) – in December 2015, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts System announced their plans to divest from direct holdings in coal companies. Once this decision was released, the escalation of a four-year student-run campaign, the UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign, occurred. A 500-student week-long occupation of the Whitmore Administration Building led to 34 student arrests and a decision to vote on fossil fuel divestment at the next Board of Trustees Meeting. On 25 May 2016, it was announced that the University of Massachusetts system would divest its endowment from direct holdings in fossil fuels, becoming the first major public university to do so.[https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/umass-becomes-first-major-public UMass Becomes First Major Public University to Divest from Direct Fossil Fuel Holdings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620001413/https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/umass-becomes-first-major-public |date=20 June 2018 }} (25 May 2016).
• University of Washington (Seattle, Washington, US) – in September 2022, the board of regents voted unanimously to divest the university's $6bn Consolidated Endowment Fund (CEF) from the fossil fuel industry by 2027. The resolution had been drafted in response to a petition submitted by student activists in 2020 and as part of the university's ACSRI process, which was created in 2016 following the decision to divest direct investments in coal.[https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/09/08/uw-board-of-regents-votes-to-exit-direct-fossil-fuel-investments-by-2027/] (08 September 2022).

{{Reduced pull quote|1=right

|2=We see this as both a moral imperative and an economic opportunity.

|3=Stephen Heintz|4=president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund,
on disinvesting from fossil fuels, 30 September 2014Cited in Tim Flannery, Atmosphere of Hope. Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Penguin Books, 2015, pages 117 ({{ISBN|9780141981048}}). Opening quote for the chapter ten entitles "Divestment and the carbon bubble".}}

In September 2014, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced it would divest its fossil fuel investments totaling $60 million. "We are quite convinced that if he were alive today, as an astute businessman looking out to the future, he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy."{{cite news|title=Divestment Statement|url=http://www.rbf.org/content/divestment-statement|website=Rockefeller Brothers Fund|access-date=28 March 2015}}

Founded in 1992, interfaith organization GreenFaith (which later expanded to a global movement) experienced a surge in interest after the "spectacular failure" of climate negotiations at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.{{Cite web |last=Norris |first=Jessica |date=2015 |title=Religion & Environmental Stewardship / Non-Profit Spotlight: Greenfaith |url=https://www.biohabitats.com/newsletter/religion-environmental-stewardship-2/non-profit-spotlight-greenfaith/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623093942/https://www.biohabitats.com/newsletter/religion-environmental-stewardship-2/non-profit-spotlight-greenfaith/ |archive-date=23 June 2024 |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=Biohabitats |language=en-US}} Founder Rev. Fletcher Harper stated the summit's ineffectiveness inspired divestment movements among places of worship of various religions. This would later lead to activism across faiths and religions, such as GreenFaith's involvement in the People's Climate March 2014.

The 2013 general synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) passed a resolution (sponsored by the Massachusetts Conference and ten other conferences of the UCC) outlining a path to divestment of church funds from fossil-fuel holdings. Under the resolution, a divestment plan will be developed by June 2018.{{update inline|date=March 2022}} The original proposal considered by the general synod called for a five-year plan to divestment; this was changed following negotiations between divestment proponents and the UCC's investment arm, United Church Funds.Micki Carter, [http://www.ucc.org/gs2013-fossil-fuel-divestment-vote United Church of Christ to become first U.S. denomination to move toward divestment from fossil fuel companies], United Church of Christ.Paul Brandeis Raushenbus, [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/fossil-fuel-divestment-ucc_n_3535729.html Fossil Fuel Divestment Strategy Passes at United Church of Christ Convention (UCC)], Huffington Post (2 July 2013).Celeste Kennel-Shank. [http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2014-09/ucc-investment-fund-will-be-free-fossil-fuels UCC investment fund will be free of fossil fuels], Christian Century (25 September 2014). United Church Funds also established a denominational fossil-free fund (believed to be the first of its kind), which raised almost $16 million from UCC congregations, conferences, and other groups by late September 2014.

In June 2014, the trustees of Union Theological Seminary in New York City unanimously voted to begin divesting fossil fuels from the seminary's $108.4 million endowment.Antonia Blumberg, [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/10/union-theological-seminary-fossil-fuels_n_5481417.html Union Theological Seminary in NYC Unanimously Votes to Divest From Fossil Fuels], Huffington Post (10 June 2014).

In 2019 the Goldman Sachs bank divested from arctic oil, coal thermal mines and mountaintop removal projects{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Jordan |title=Goldman Sachs Is First U.S. Big Bank to Divest From Arctic Oil and Gas |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/goldman-sachs-is-first-u-s-big-bank-to-divest-from-arctic-oil-and-gas-2641609193.html |access-date=18 December 2019 |agency=Ecowatch |date=16 December 2019}}

{{Expand section|date=December 2018}}

In 2015, the London Assembly passed a motion calling on the Mayor of London to urgently divest pension funds from fossil fuel companies{{cite web|title=Divestment from fossil fuels | London City Hall|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/london-assembly/meetings-whole-assembly/motions/divestment-from-fossil-fuels|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403104916/https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/london-assembly/meetings-whole-assembly/motions/divestment-from-fossil-fuels|archive-date=3 April 2015|access-date=7 June 2015}}{{cite news|first=Karl|last=Mathiesen|title=Boris Johnson told to divest £4.8bn pension fund from fossil fuels | Environment|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/11/london-assembly-votes-to-divest-48bn-pension-fund-from-fossil-fuel|access-date=21 May 2016}}

The UK government has explicitly warned Local Authorities in the UK that they may be penalised if they boycott suppliers on the basis of involvement in fossil fuel extraction so long as it remains government policy not to boycott.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/18/uk-councils-warned-of-severe-penalties-of-fossil-fuel-divestment|title=UK councils warned of 'severe penalties' of fossil fuel divestment|last=Neslen|first=Arthur|date=2016-02-18|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} This makes it challenging for local government to act on boycott even if it believes it has an ethical or environmental case to do so.

• City, University of London – announced on 4 July 2023 that it was divesting its investments from fossil fuel producers.{{cite web

|url=https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/07/city-university-of-london-divests-fossil-fuel-producers

|title=City, University of London divests from fossil fuel producers

|last=

|first=

|date=4 July 2023

|website=

|publisher=City, University of London

|access-date=10 July 2023}}

• SOAS, University of London – in March 2015, SOAS announced it would divest within three years. SOAS fulfilled this pledge in 2018.{{cite news |title=SOAS fulfils pledge to divest from fossil fuels |url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem127331.html |access-date=23 October 2018 |publisher=soas |date=6 February 2018}} SOAS was the first university in London to divest and one of the first in the UK. Its announcement came after a long-running student-led campaign.{{cite web |title=SOAS first university in London to divest in fossil fuels |url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem101976.html |website=SOAS |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160538/https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem101976.html |url-status=dead }}
• King's College London, University of London – in September 2016, King's agreed to invest 15% of its £179 million endowment in clean energy and to drop investments in the most polluting fossil fuels. The university currently has exposure to Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Glencore.{{cite news | last = Vaughan | first = Adam | title = King's College London diverts fossil fuel endowments to clean energy | date = 28 September 2016 | work = The Guardian | location = London, UK | issn = 0261-3077 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/28/kings-college-london-diverts-fossil-fuel-endowments-to-clean-energy | access-date = 28 September 2016}}
• University of Glasgow – in October 2014, the university announced plans to freeze new investments in fossil fuels and divest from fossil fuel companies over the next ten years. Hydrocarbon investment made up around 4% of the university's total endowment; about £18 million in such investments will be withdrawn over the decade-long phaseout. The University of Glasgow was the first university in Europe to divest from fossil fuels.{{cite news |last1=Harrabin |first1=Roger |title=University to sell fossil fuel shares |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29547137 |access-date=4 April 2019 |date=9 October 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=Libby |title=Glasgow becomes first university in Europe to divest from fossil fuels |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/08/glasgow-becomes-first-university-in-europe-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 April 2019 |date=8 October 2014}}
• University of Bedfordshire – in January 2015, it decided to formalize its previously informal decision "not to invest in specific sectors such as fossil fuels."Harriet Line, [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-joins-glasgow-in-fossil-fuel-commitment/2018033.article Bedfordshire joins Glasgow in fossil fuel commitment], Times Higher Education (20 January 2015).
• University of Bristol – a long campaign to make Bristol University divest from fossil fuels took a major step when Carla Denyer, a Bristol Green Party councillor sitting on one of the university's governance bodies, tabled a divestment motion in November 2015.Carla Denyer, '[https://thebristolcable.org/2017/03/journey-fossil-fuels-divestment/ My journey with fossil fuels divestment]', The Bristol Cable (10 March 2017).'Don't invest in fossil fuel firms', Bristol Post (17 November 2015). Despite initial defeats,'Demo in protest over uni link to fossil fuel firms', Bristol Post (2 December 2016), 2–3. The campaign succeeded in March 2017.Esme Ashcroft, 'People power Uni stops investing in fossil fuel firms', Bristol Post (10 March 2017), 16–17.Ellen Jones, '[https://issuu.com/epigrampaper/docs/issue_324/8 Divest! Divest Now! An Interview with UoB's Fossil Free Society]', Epigram (26 February 2018).

As of January 2020, according to student campaigning organisation People & Planet, over half of UK universities have now made some form of divestment commitment, pushing the UK further education divestment total above £12 billion.[http://bright-green.org/2020/01/13/breaking-half-of-all-uk-universities-have-now-divested-from-fossil-fuels/ BREAKING: Half of all UK universities have now divested from fossil fuels, Bright-green.org]

On 30 April 2015, the Church of England agreed to divest £12 million from its tar sands oil and thermal coal holdings. The church has a £9 billion investment fund.

{{cite news

| first = Adam | last = Vaughan

| title = Church of England ends investments in heavily polluting fossil fuels

| date = 30 April 2015

| work = The Guardian

| location = London, UK

| issn = 0261-3077

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/30/church-of-england-ends-investments-in-heavily-polluting-fossil-fuels

| access-date = 28 September 2016

}}

• University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) – in September 2016, the university created an ethical investments policy excluding investment in 'the exploration and extraction of fossil fuels'. The University of Otago was the second university in New Zealand to commit to fossil-free investing.[https://www.critic.co.nz/news/article/6283/otago-university-council-votes-to--divest-from-fos Otago University Council votes to divest from fossil fuels], Critic Te Arohi, (17 September 2016).
• Victoria University (Wellington, New Zealand) – in December 2014, the university announced its intention to divest all its investments from fossil fuels, becoming the first New Zealand university to do so.[http://sustainable.org.nz/sustainable-business-news/victoria-university-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels Victoria University to divest from fossil fuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033805/http://sustainable.org.nz/sustainable-business-news/victoria-university-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels |date=5 March 2016 }}, Sustainable Business Network (2 December 2014).

Ireland is to be the world's first country to divest public money from fossil fuels.[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ireland-fossilfuels-divestment/ireland-commits-to-divesting-public-funds-from-fossil-fuel-companies-idUSKBN1K22AA Ireland commits to divesting public funds from fossil fuel companies], Reuters, (12 July 2018).[https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2018/0712/978244-dail-fo/ Ireland makes history becoming first country to divest from fossil fuels], RTÉ, (Friday, 13 July 2018)[http://www.thejournal.ie/fossil-fuel-divestment-bill-4124211-Jul2018/ Ireland to be the world's first country to divest public money from fossil fuels], theJournal.ie, (12 July 2018)

• Municipality of Örebro — "The City of Örebro is the first Swedish city to commit to pulling its funds out of fossil fuels in a move to align its investments with its environmental goals. Örebro is the 30th local authority worldwide to take this step, following in the footsteps of cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and the Dutch town of Boxtel.[https://gofossilfree.org/europe/press-release/orebro-first-swedish-city-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels/ Örebro first Swedish city to divest from fossil fuels], gofossilfree.org,(14 October 2014)

• Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden) – in early 2015, the university became the first Swedish university to divest from fossil fuels. The university said it would sell about $600,000 in fossil-fuel holdings.Elizabeth Douglass, [http://insideclimatenews.org/news/09022015/divestment-day-aims-strengthen-global-reach-fossil-free-movement Divestment Day Aims to Strengthen Global Reach of Fossil-Free Movement], InsideClimate News (9 February 2015).

In November 2019, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world's largest international public lending institution, adopted a strategy to end funding for new, unabated fossil fuel energy projects, including natural gas, from the end of 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2019-313-eu-bank-launches-ambitious-new-climate-strategy-and-energy-lending-policy|title=EU Bank launches ambitious new climate strategy and Energy Lending Policy|date=14 November 2019|website=European Investment Bank|access-date=15 November 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-14/eu-bank-takes-quantum-leap-to-end-fossil-fuel-financing|title=EU Bank Takes 'Quantum Leap' to End Fossil-Fuel Financing|last=Krukowska|first=Ewa|date=14 November 2019|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|access-date=14 November 2019}}

{{Portal|Economy|Energy|Global warming}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|

• Australian Local Government Fossil Fuel Divestment
• BP Energy Outlook 2020
• Climate bond
• Climate Disclosure Standards Board
• Economic recovery programmes during COVID-19 pandemic
• European Green Deal
• Fossil fuels lobby
• Fossil fuel subsidies
• Held v. Montana
• Individual action on climate change
• Low-carbon power
• Negative externalities
• One Earth Climate Model
• Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles
• Socially responsible investing
• Sustainable consumption
• Sustainable development

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Bill McKibben (October 2019). [https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/money-is-the-oxygen-on-which-the-fire-of-global-warming-burns Money Is the Oxygen on Which the Fire of Global Warming Burns – What if the banking, asset-management, and insurance industries moved away from fossil fuels?] The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 October 2019
• {{cite book

| first1= Anna | last1= Laskowska

| title= The green bond as a prospective instrument of the global debt market

| date = 2017

| url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326218132 }}

• OECD, [https://www.oecd.org/sd-roundtable/papersandpublications/Divestment%20and%20Stranded%20Assets%20in%20the%20Low-carbon%20Economy%2032nd%20OECD%20RTSD.pdf Divestment and Stranded Assets in the Low-carbon Transition], 2015.
• {{cite book

| first1 = James | last1 = Rowe

| first2 = Jessica | last2 = Dempsey

| first3 = Peter | last3 = Gibbs

| title = The Power of Fossil Fuel Divestment (And Its Secret)

| date = July 2016

| publisher = ARP

| location = Winnipeg, Canada

| access-date = 17 April 2018

| url = https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt5482r07p/qt5482r07p.pdf?t=o8gxwq }}

{{Commons category|Fossil Fuel Divestment}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://coalexit.org/ Global Coal Exit List]
• [https://divestmentdatabase.org/ Global Divestment Commitments Database] by Stand.earth
• [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2015/mar/16/the-biggest-story-in-the-world A podcast series recording the process of The Guardian newspaper organising its divestment campaign 'Keep it in the ground'.]

{{Climate change}}

{{Sustainability}}

Category:Ethical investment

Category:Economics and climate change

Category:Fossil fuels

Category:Fossil fuel phase-out

Category:Sustainable energy