Cambridge university's endowment fund targets net zero emissions by 2038

(Reuters, 1 Oct 2020) University says it will divest any remaining holdings in fossil fuel companies by 2030 to support its climate goal.

The University of Cambridge pledged on Thursday to reduce the climate-warming emissions from its investments to net zero within 18 years, a first among academic institutions under pressure from students to do more to combat climate change.

The 800-year-old British university said it would rebalance its 3.5 billion pound ($4.5 billion) endowment fund to ensure that it stopped contributing to global warming by 2038 - ahead of many other climate-concerned investors, who have tended to set a 2050 deadline.

"Cambridge is one of the world's leading scientific universities and our plans are to align our investment portfolio with the science," Tilly Franklin, the university's chief investment officer, told Reuters television.

Cambridge said it would divest any remaining holdings in fossil fuel companies by 2030 to support its goal, part of a broader Cambridge Zero initiative to harness the university's scientific and convening power for climate action.

External link

Reuters, 1 Oct 2020: Cambridge university's endowment fund targets net zero emissions by 2038