In the last two months, two universities announced plans to divest from all fossil fuel companies (University of Surrey has a £42m endowment; Oxford Brookes £1.6m).
In November, six other universities (Birmingham City University, Cranfield University, Heriot-Watt University, the University of Hertfordshire, the University of Portsmouth and the University of Westminster) also joined the global fossil fuel divestment movement after their fund manager CCLA decided to move its investments out of coal and tar sands.
In the last two months, one local council (Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire) voted for divestment, and three (York, Bradford and Reading) voted to review their fossil fuel investments.
The environment agency pension fund also pledged to dump 90 percent of its coal stock and 50 percent of its oil and gas, and to invest 15 percent of its fund in low-carbon technologies.
Globally, more than 2,000 institutions and 400 individuals worth a collective £2.6tn have moved investments out of various forms of fossil fuels.