The £3.5 billion Cambridge University Endowment Fund – one of the biggest of its kind in Europe – intends to ramp up investments in renewable energy as it divests from fossil fuels.
This latest plan puts Cambridge at the head of the race to become the first university endowment of its kind where greenhouse gas emissions from the activities of all investments balance out at zero.
Announcing the move in his annual address to the University on Thursday, Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor, said: “The University is responding comprehensively to a pressing environmental and moral need for action with an historic announcement that demonstrates our determination to seek solutions to the climate crisis. We will approach with renewed confidence our collaborations with government, industry and research partners around the world as together we work for a zero-carbon future.”
The step-by-step changes – which the University hopes will inspire other institutions - will see the CUEF:
- Withdraw investments with conventional energy-focused public equity managers by December 2020
- Build up significant investments in renewable energy by 2025
- Divest from all meaningful exposure in fossil fuels by 2030
- Aim to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire investment portfolio by 2038, in line with the broader targets of the University.
Chief Investment Officer Tilly Franklin said: “Climate change, ecological destruction, and biodiversity loss present an urgent existential threat, with severe risks to humankind and all other life on Earth. The Investment Office has responded to those threats by pursuing a strategy that aims to support and encourage the global transition to a carbon-neutral economy.”
Watch a video and read the full story
Image: Light through trees
Credit: D. Jameson via Unsplash
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge