BOSTON (Reuters) -Harvard University is ending its investments in fossil fuels, the school’s president said on Thursday, drawing praise from divestment activists who had long pressed the leading university to exit such holdings. The indirect investments, made through private equity funds, make up less than 2% of the endowment, Bacow wrote. Recently valued at about $42 billion, the most of any university, the school’s endowment has been under pressure for years from students, alumni and other activists to sell off its fossil fuel holdings as a way to slow climate change. For most of the past decade previous Harvard officials had resisted calls to sell fossil fuel stocks but more recently changed course under new leaders including Bacow, president since 2018. Internal pressure for divestment has also grown, including from young members elected to one of Harvard’s leadership boards last year on a divestment platform.

Source: MetroXpress September 10, 2021 02:15 UTC