Senior university management recommend ditching funds in coal and tar sands companies ahead of a final decision in May

Edinburgh University on course to divest from coal and tar sands

The University of Edinburgh is expected to divest its £292m endowment from coal and tar sands companies following a recommendation from senior management on Tuesday.

Student representatives were informed of the response from the Central Management Group ahead of the final decision, which will be announced in May.

In October, Glasgow University became the first academic institution in Europe to commit to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The University of Bedfordshire followed suit in January.

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In total, more than 220 institutions – from pension funds to faith organisations to foundations – have now made similar commitments to divest as part of a global campaign started by 350.org.

Activists who have been pressuring the University of Edinburgh for three years expressed disappointment that the recommendation did not go further.

Kirsty Haigh, student campaigner and the vice president, communities for NUS Scotland said:

“It would be very rare for the court to reject a recommendation from the central management board so this is very significant. It’s absolutely crucial that the university does not give in to big fossil fuel companies and flout their moral obligations. Full divestment from fossil fuels is the only responsible action. Our futures are too important to be gambled away for university profit.”

According to a freedom of information request by NUS Scotland, the university currently has a minimum of £8.6m of direct investments in fossil fuel companies including Shell, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and an additional £5.9m in fossil fuel services such as Petrobras and the Weir Group.

Professor Charlie Jeffery, senior vice principal said: “The University of Edinburgh was the first university in Europe to commit to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment. Since then, we have carried out a consultation process involving students, staff and alumni to help determine how we should best take forward our commitment to responsible investment.”

The recommendation comes as divestment campaigners at Harvard university engage in a week of direct action on campus. Syracuse university recently became the biggest in the world to commit to full divestment from fossil fuel companies with Stanford pulling out of coal.

Similar campaigns are underway at universities across the UK, including King’s College London, the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Oxford, where the university recently deferred its decision.

In March, the Guardian launched a campaign calling on the world’s largest charitable foundations – the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation – to remove their investments from fossil fuel companies. The Guardian Media Group – the company that owns the Guardian – has since committed to divest its own £800m fund.