Cambridge University Endowment Fund, Cambridge, England, will divest just under £100 million ($129 million) in energy-related investments over the next decade.
As part of its new policy, published Thursday, the £3.5 billion endowment fund will divest holdings in energy-focused public equity managers by the end of this year. It will also sell indirect exposures to fossil fuel-linked companies by 2030.
The endowment fund currently has 2.8%, or just under £100 million, of its investments in the energy industry, a spokesman for the university said. "That does include energy services as well as fossil-fuel producers," he said.
The fund held no direct equity investments in the fossil fuel sector, including thermal coal and tar sands industries, according to its latest financial report as of Dec. 31.
"Climate change, ecological destruction, and biodiversity loss present an urgent existential threat, with severe risks to humankind and all other life on Earth. The investment office has responded to those threats by pursuing a strategy that aims to support and encourage the global transition to a carbon neutral economy," Tilly Franklin, CIO, said in a news release Thursday.
The fund also said it will ramp up investments in renewable energy by 2025.
A spokeswoman said that the endowment's plans with regards to renewable energy are yet to be finalized.
The fund invested 59% of its assets in equities, 12% in private equity, 9% in real assets, 8% in absolute return strategies, 7% in cash and 5% in credit as of Dec. 31.
