Lancaster University Green Party praises uni for divesting from fossil fuels

‘It’s great to see the university divest from fossil fuel companies’


The Lancaster University Green Party has praised the university’s divestment in fossil fuel companies as it’s what the party have wanted since they formed.

Lancaster University has announced they will drop their investments in fossil fuel companies during COP26 negotiations.

Lancaster University is the 92nd university in the UK to go fossil-free after seven years of student and staff involvement.

Lancaster University Green Party said: “It’s great to see the university divest from fossil fuel companies, something the Green Party society has been calling for since forming.”

The party now wants to “see transparency” from the university “with evidence that such divestment is taking place.”

The party want the university to take three key steps in response to the climate emergency. They said: “We’re also calling on the university to take three key steps laid out by Millie Prosser and Lancaster Youth for Environment in order to respond to the climate emergency.

“These involve engaging staff, students and the wider community in shaping and implementing the response, allocating sufficient resources to implement a rapid decarbonisation action plan, and managing university-owned land to enhance native species biodiversity.”

An article by the Lancaster Guardian said that Lancaster University’s investment portfolios are worth over three million pounds.

The campaign has been passed down through generations of students. The article said: “It began in 2014 with the founding of the Lancaster University Ethical Investments campaign by a coalition of social and climate justice societies – including the People & Planet and the SPEAK Societies – and ended with Lancaster University Extinction Rebellion’s success last week.”

Students are calling on the university to stop investing in fossil fuel companies. The article said: “Students are now turning their attention to Lancaster University’s Careers & Employability Service, and calling for them to explicitly exclude oil, gas and mining companies from recruiting and advertising in university spaces. This is part of a coordinated national campaign under the banner ‘Fossil Free Careers’.”

A Lancaster University spokesperson has said: “We are committed to our sustainability goals and look forward to meeting Millie later this month to discuss these issues.”

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