Divestment: Advantages and Disadvantages for the University of Cambridge

Abstract

This report details the advantages and disadvantages of a policy of fossil fuel divestment for the University of Cambridge across social, moral, political, financial, and reputational dimensions. It comprises an analysis of the current state of the fossil fuel industry, including its transition-readiness and a set of criteria against which one might judge companies' decarbonisation plans; a complete review of the academic literature on fossil fuel divestment; and an online regularly-updated timeline of global divestment announcements. This report was peer-reviewed and edited by Cambridge University Press. The University announced its intention to divest from fossil fuels and aim for a net-zero portfolio by 2038 on October 1st 2020: https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels-with-net-zero-plan.

Keywords: Divestment, fossil fuels, climate change, responsible investment

JEL Classification: F64, G12, G30, Q35, Q40, Q50