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A change of financial climate: Glasgow will reallocate ?18 million of investments away from fossil fuel industries

Senior professors at the University of Glasgow have criticised the Scottish institution¡¯s decision to disinvest from fossil fuel companies.

The university announced last week that it plans to reallocate about ?18 million of investments over 10 years after a vote by the institution¡¯s governing court.

Campaigners described the decision ¨C which they said made Glasgow the first university in Europe to divest from the fossil fuel industry ¨C as ¡°a major victory¡±.

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But Paul Younger, Rankine chair of engineering and professor of energy engineering at the university, said that he was ¡°utterly dismayed, and vehemently opposed¡±.

¡°A decision to divest from fossil fuels would jeopardise the university¡¯s credibility in working in all of these areas, as it would suggest we are unaware of the context in which our research takes place,¡± he said. ¡°The issue of carbon emissions is far too complex and far too important to be amenable to simple gesture politics.¡±

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He claimed that he and his colleagues had made clear their objection in July, meaning that the decision could not be dismissed as ¡°well-meaning naivety¡±.

¡°It is better to characterise this as an instance of collective intellectual dishonesty,¡± he said, adding that, unlike apartheid or tobacco, fossil fuels were ¡°not some unmitigated evil from which no conceivable benefit to society has been derived¡±.

Rob Ellam, director of the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, operated jointly by Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh, was also ¡°outraged¡± by the decision.

¡°I am a champion for environmental science in the University of Glasgow, but my environmental science includes keeping the lights on, keeping people warm and keeping them safely fed,¡± he said.

Colin McInnes, James Watt chair and professor of engineering science at Glasgow, said that a more nuanced position than ¡°blanket divestment¡± would be to ¡°engage with the energy sector as responsible investors and innovators, helping expedite these energy transitions¡±.

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David Newall, secretary of Glasgow¡¯s court, said that the university had made the decision because it recognised ¡°the devastating impact that climate change may have on our planet, and the need for the world to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels¡±.

¡°Over the coming years we will steadily reduce our investment in the fossil fuel extraction industry, while also taking steps to reduce our carbon consumption,¡± he said.

A spokesman for Glasgow said that the divestment decision was made ¡°after extensive discussion involving an independent working group¡±.

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¡°This commitment is subject to reassurance that the financial impact for the university is acceptable, the detail of which will be monitored by the university¡¯s governing body,¡± he said.

¡°We do recognise that the announcement has not won the support of everyone, and we respect the right of individuals to make their views known.¡±

Professor Younger pointed out that the university itself ¡°sees no potential for abandoning gas as its principal source of heating¡±, since its new heating and power system ¡°will be gas-fired¡±.

¡°It is ethically repugnant to us to heap moral opprobrium on one of Scotland¡¯s only export earners, our oil sector, while expecting the tax revenues from the same to pay for free university education for all who make the grade,¡± he said, adding that he hoped that those academic members of the university court who voted in favour of divestment would have ¡°the moral integrity¡± to turn off the radiators in their offices.

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chris.parr@tesglobal.com