Post by jesseyee on Aug 23, 2017 9:24:18 GMT
It's been a big week for fossil fuel divestment at universities in the UK and abroad
Student activists are continuing to make a positive impact on climate change as the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in the US becomes the latest major institution to announce it is to end its direct investments in fossil fuel companies. The news comes after the universities of Newcastle and Southampton in the UK, this week, announced they will commit to changing their investment policies following months of student protests.Melbourne’s La Trobe University, meanwhile, became the Australia’s first to confirm it will divest within five years. UMass said its decision followed a series of developments that signalled the university community’s desire to fight climate change. After a number of demonstrations at its Amherst campus last month, the institution’s board of directors unanimously voted to divest all direct holdings of the $770 million (£526 million) endowment from coal, oil, and gas. UMass president Marty Meehan said the action is consistent with the principles that have guided the university, and reflects its commitment to take on the environmental challenges “that confront us all.”