Some 21 UK universities led by Cambridge have threatened banks and asset managers they will shift billions of pounds into ‘greener’ banks over fossil fuel financing.
As reported by the Financial Times, the universities – including Oxford, Edinburgh, Leeds, University College London and the London School of Economics – have formally asked institutions to ensure their money doesn’t contribute to the financing of new oil, coal or gas projects.
The universities call for financial institutions to create new environmentally friendly types of deposit accounts and money market funds.
University of Cambridge chief financial officer Anthony Odgers said: “Building new infrastructure, such as coal and gas-fired plants and pipelines, locks in demand for fossil fuel for decades.
“We care about people using our money [to do this]. We want to have a real-world impact.”
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The universities are also calling for financial institutions to ensure no new financing of fossil fuel supply beyond that already committed in 2021 to align with the International Energy Agency’s scenario in which global emissions hit net zero by 2050.
Make My Money Matter campaign director David Hayman told BusinessGreen: “From Cambridge to Oxford, Manchester to Edinburgh – universities and colleges across the UK are saying no to those banks financing climate chaos.”
“We hope this historic bid for greener banking acts as a clarion call for all universities to choose a bank that doesn’t finance new oil and gas. In doing so, they can ensure the billions sat in their accounts helps protect their students’ futures, not jeopardise them.”
