Over 1,500 institutions with over $40.4 trillion of assets have committed to divesting from fossil fuels. 15% are educational institutions.
Below are some of the universities and foundations that have fully or partially divested. See the full list of divested institutions at Fossil Free.
Read about Yale's partial divestment and its Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility.
Read about partial Harvard's divestment.
See a peer analysis produced by Princeton University (information on Princeton is out of date).
1500+ INSTITUTIONS
2022
BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON becomes the 99th university to divest from fossil fuels in the UK on September 22nd.
UNIVERSITY OF HULL in September joins over 60% of UK universities committed to divestment from fossil fuels, adding to a total of over £15 billion in UK university investments pulled from the fossil fuel industry.
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN becomes the first South African University to divest from fossil fuels in March.
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER in February transforms their partial coal and tar sand commitment into a full exclusion that applies to all fossil fuel companies.
2021
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO U of T announces divestment and new sustainability measures on October 27th. "When a large institution like the University of Toronto decides to take such steps, it is our belief that this will both accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and inspire other investors to do the same."
VASSAR COLLEGE Vassar announced it is divesting on October 18th.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO On October 14th, Loyola announced it was divesting.
REED COLLEGE On October 11th, Reed College confirmed it is divesting from fossil fuels.
FORD FOUNDATION announces full divestment. President Darren Walker apologizes for having taken so long to divest.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE On October 8th, Dartmouth confirmed it is divesting from fossil fuels.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY The California State University System, the largest in the U.S., decided on October 6 to divest from fossil fuels.
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN Aberdeen University, considered one of the UK’s top academic institutions for petroleum studies, has decided to divest from fossil fuels.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Under student pressure, University of Minnesota announces it will phase out fossil fuel investments.
THE MACARTHUR FOUNDATION announces full divestment.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY Shortly after Harvard's announcement, the Trustees of Boston University announced they had voted to divest the university endowment from fossil fuels.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY UPDATE Harvard announces full divestment
YALE UPDATE Yale sets new carbon reduction targets, takes divestment steps
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN After years of student advocacy, protests and calls for action, the University of Michigan will discontinue fossil fuel investments.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY Rutgers to divest from fossil fuel industry
TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY Trinity College Cambridge to dump fossil fuel companies this year
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Columbia divests from oil and gas companies
SOMERVILLE COLLEGE, OXFORD Somerville College To Divest By July
PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY Pembroke College to divest fully from fossil fuel investments by 2023
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA University of Victoria divests $80 million from fossil fuel investments
USC "USC will halt making new investments in fossil fuels and will begin liquidating current investments in an effort to make sustainability a priority."
2020
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "The University of Cambridge aims to divest from all direct and indirect investments in fossil fuels by 2030 as part of the University’s plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2038, more than a decade before the date set by the UK Government."
CORNELL UNIVERSITY - Closing out a semester of protests, assembly votes and even a staged wedding, the Cornell University Board of Trustees voted Friday to essentially divest from fossil fuels.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD "The University of Oxford has agreed to divest from fossil fuels and commit to a net-zero investment strategy following extensive student-led campaigns and protests."
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY "Georgetown University’s president announced Thursday that the
school will stop making new investments of endowment funds in fossil fuel companies and will move to withdraw funds already invested in those firms…That decision — which was made by the school’s board of directors — comes amid pressure from students and other activists on campus asking the university to divest as part of the battle against climate change.”
BROWN UNIVERSITY "The University is in the process of selling all of its direct investments and managed funds that focus on fossil fuels, President Christina Paxson P’19 wrote in a March 4 Today@Brown announcement.”
2019
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the UC Board of Regents’ investments committee write that the “reason we sold some $150 million in fossil fuel assets from our endowment was the reason we sell other assets: They posed a long-term risk to generating strong returns for UC’s diversified portfolios.” Read more about their decision here.
2017
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY "The Columbia board of trustees voted to divest from thermal coal producers at its most recent meeting…” Students are now fighting for full divestment from fossil fuels. (see above 2021)
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY "The university’s board of trustees voted to divest its endowment from thermal coal...after the Public Interest Investment Advisory Committee (PIIAC) recommend that the University divest from fossil fuels.”
BARNARD COLLEGE "Barnard’s board of trustees voted to accept the Presidential Task Force to Examine Divestment’s recommendation to divest from companies that deny climate change, as well as companies that mine coal and tar sands…”
2016
YALE UNIVERSITY "Chief Investment Officer David] Swensen reported that after months of talking with Yale’s external investment managers about the potential risks associated with investments in coal, oil, around $10 million of the endowment has been removed from two publicly-traded fossil fuel producers.”
2014
STANFORD UNIVERSITY "The Stanford University Board of Trustees announced yesterday that the University will no longer directly invest endowment funds in coal mining companies, making Stanford the first major American university to take such a step.” Fossil Free Stanford continues the fight for full divestment from fossil fuels, namely oil and gas."