Wednesday 20 May 2020

University of California announces fossil fuel-free investment portfolio

The University of California (UC) has announced it has divested from all fossil fuels.

It says its investments are now fossil fuel-free after the sale of more than $1 billion (£820m) in assets from its pension, endowment and working capital pools.

In addition, the university has surpassed its five-year goal of investing $1 billion (£820m) in clean energy projects.

UC’s new energy investments have developed 9.2GW of wind and solar capacity across all the platforms in which it has invested.

Directly attributable to UC investments’ share of the platforms is 1.47GW of wind and solar energy capacity in the US, Canada, the UK, Japan and India.

Richard Sherman, Chair of the UC Board of Regents’ Investments Committee, said: "Today’s announcements on our investment strategy underscore our hopeful view of the future.

"As long-term investors, we believe the university and its stakeholders are much better served by investing in promising opportunities in the alternative energy field rather than gambling on oil and gas."

UC President Janet Napolitano, commented: "The UC uses more green power than any other university in the nation and we are also the leader in the amount of renewable electricity we generate on our campuses.

"Sustainable climate solutions and sustainable investing are more important than ever, especially given the challenges we face in a world altered by Covid-19."