Stanford shifting investments to renewables
Prestigious California based University will keep $18.7 billion out of coal firms and the money will be redirected to renewable energy sources after agreement between the university’s board and an advisory committee
Stanford University has announced it will make no further direct investments in coal mining companies, after the board of trustees announced this week that it will focus on cleaner energy options.
The prestigious California based University will keep US$18.7 billion out of coal firms and the money will be redirected to renewable energy sources after agreement between the university’s board and an advisory committee.
Stanford will divest from the stakes it owns in such firms after a vote at the university found that 78 per cent of undergraduates were in favour of divesting from fossil fuels.
Stanford University president John Hennessy (pictured below) said, “Stanford has a responsibility as a global citizen to promote sustainability for our planet, and we work intensively to do so through our research, our educational programmes and our campus operations. The university’s review has concluded that coal is one of the most carbon intensive methods of energy generation and that other sources can be readily substituted for it. Moving away from coal in the investment context is a small, but constructive, step while work continues, at Stanford and elsewhere, to develop broadly viable sustainable energy solutions for the future.”
The student campaign group Fossil Free Stanford said in a statement: “Stanford’s decision is a clear testament to the power of the student movement for divestment and the broader movement to combat climate change. This decision is also another powerful illustration that America is waking up to the reality that continued large-scale combustion of coal is incompatible with a sustainable future.”
Harvard University is also taking action on climate change with their president announcing a new fund that will support clean energy projects.
The Climate Change Solutions Fund was launched by president Drew Faust in April, with the aim of raising US$20 million (£12 million) so that students can submit proposals for low-carbon projects that promote the green economy.
Pitzer College, also in the US, recently announced its own divestment plans.