Harvard will divest from fossil-fuel industry, a victory for climate-change activists

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

Higher Education

Harvard will divest from fossil-fuel industry, a victory for climate-change activists

By Nick Anderson
Today at 10:22 a.m. EDT

Harvard University has announced it is now on a path to end all of its investments in the fossil-fuel industry, a landmark victory for climate activists seeking to pressure major institutions to divest financially from business activities that have contributed to global warming.

The action is likely to have ripple effects in higher education and beyond because Harvard’s $41 billion endowment is the largest among U.S. colleges and universities.

“We must act now as citizens, as scholars, and as an institution to address this crisis on as many fronts as we have at our disposal,” Harvard President Larry S. Bacow said Thursday in a statement to the university community.

Bacow said the university has ended all direct investment in fossil fuels and plans to allow its remaining indirect investments in the industry — through private equity funds — to lapse without renewal. Taken together, the actions amount to a major reversal for a university that in years past had resisted using the clout of its endowment policy to take a definitive stand on fossil fuels.

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By Nick Anderson
Nick Anderson covers higher education and other education topics for The Washington Post. He has been a writer and editor at The Post since 2005. Twitter https://twitter.com/wpnick

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/09/10/harvard-divest-fossil-fuels/

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This is an outrage. I will never buy another one of their bedframes.

[Jose Garcia]

1. I'm trying to wrap my head around how this will affect anything

Harvard is selling these assets to someone else. That someone else will now get any profits from thos assets. How exacty does that have any impact on climate change?

[madville]

6. It's symbolic

Makes no difference to oil companies and such. Firms have "green" funds to invest in, like electric vehicles, solar, etc.

[MichMan]

2. Is Harvard banning all fossil fueled vehicles, natl gas & fossil fuel generated electrity ?

[Jose Garcia]

3. Nope, jist going to invest their money elsewhere

[BComplex]

4. It's a good start! Now if everyone will start divesting of interest in Texas and other

insurrectionist-supporting states, we'll actually be on the road to recovery!

[CTyankee]

5. All right, Yale! Step up and follow suit!

[ck4829]

7. K&R