Divestment
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What is divestment?
“Divestment” refers to the withdrawal of investments from fossil fuel companies in order to weaken their political power and reputation. It is a global movement that is driven by thousands of grassroots groups calling on institutions to divest. Over 80% of existing fossil fuel reserves need to remain in the ground in order to keep below two degrees of warming, and so the extraction-based business model of fossil fuel companies is completely incompatible with a sustainable future. Also, their practices are often unethical and exploit the poorest members of society. With divestment, we can stigmatise the fossil fuel industry and reduce their power over businesses and governments, to make way for alternative energy solutions that do not compromise the future of the planet and the communities who are already being severely affected by climate change. So far, almost 700 institutions across the world equating to over $4.8tn of assets have divested, and the campaign is gaining momentum as more people get behind the message of climate justice.
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Divestment in Cambridge
Fossil Free Cambridgeshire is calling on local councils in Cambridgeshire to divest investments and pension funds from fossil fuels
Cambridge Zero Carbon Society is campaigning for Cambridge University to withdraw investments from fossil fuels. We want to make our university fossil free to show we are an institution committed to tackling the climate crisis. The university has £5bn of endowments and no ethical investment policy, meaning that this money is invested in companies without consideration of their catastrophic environmental impact. Cambridge University position themselves as a driving force for a better future through their research and teaching, but now they need to demonstrate moral leadership and distance themselves from the fossil fuel industry, which is why we are calling for full divestment. Next term, we’ll be focussing on direct actions to bring our message to the attention of the governing body – we are keen for anyone in Cambridge to be involved, whether or not you’re affiliated to the University. Visit our website for more info about where we are in our campaign: and like our Facebook page
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Divestment-related events in the past year in Cambridge have included
· Meeting with local council workers as part of Global Divestment Mobilisation
· Divestment rally in Market Square with local party representatives
· City march calling for divestment in solidarity with Stop Rampal Bangladesh
· People and Planet fossil free training session
