<div dir="ltr">Thanks for sharing that Susan! <div><br></div><div>I think we are hoping Durham uni will do a little better than Newcastle in terms of divestment. I know a lot of campaigners in Newcastle were really disappointed in the outcome as this allows the university to continue investing in 'progressive oil and gas companies', whatever such things may be. </div><div><br></div><div>The process in Durham is taking a while but we are hoping for full and unconditional divestment from fossil fuel companies, and the fact that this has lots of support from staff and students is really good news!</div><div><br></div><div>Tara</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 3 March 2017 at 13:24, Susan Wesley <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:swesley@phonecoop.coop" target="_blank">swesley@phonecoop.coop</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p>Hi All</p>
<p>If Newcastle University can do this what's wrong with Durham
University!<br>
</p>
<p>"Specifically, the university’s governing council said it would
ensure it only procured assets from fund managers who are signed
up to the <b>United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment
(UNPRI)</b>. It also said it would give preference to investment
managers who preferentially invest in “progressive companies that
are working towards low carbon solutions and who will provide the
University with reports on the carbon footprint of companies
within its portfolio”</p>
<p>The university said the new strategy meant it would aim to divest
its £60m of endowment funds from thermal coal and oil/tar sand
companies, as well as other “non-progressive oil and gas
companies”, within five years.</p>
<p>“Newcastle University is committed to furthering environmental
sustainability and we have a strong track-record in this regard,”
said Mark I’Anson, chair of Newcastle University’s Council, in a
statement. “Not only is it a main focus for our research through
our internationally leading Institute for Sustainability, but as
an organisation, we continue to score highly in the influential
‘People and Planet’ Green League table. So it is right that our
investment decisions are consistent with these values."</p>
<p>This article is from May 2016.<br>
</p>
<p><a class="m_-4448222898239206883moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/25/universities-of-newcastle-and-southampton-join-fossil-fuel-divestment-push" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr>environment/2016/may/25/<wbr>universities-of-newcastle-and-<wbr>southampton-join-fossil-fuel-<wbr>divestment-push</a></p>
<p>All the best</p><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
<p>Susan<br>
</p></font></span><div><div class="h5">
<br>
<div class="m_-4448222898239206883moz-cite-prefix">On 03/03/2017 12:25, mark wrote:<br>
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Thanks Susan, that's really interesting.
If anyone knows the state of play with non-Christian faith-based
organisations, we should include them too. Anyone?
Mark
Susan Wesley:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre>Hi All
Some information on divestment from fossil fuels by some religious
organizations.
The Cathedral would come under Church of England, which has
divested from coal and tar sands.
Quakers, United Reformed Church of Scotland and Student Christian
Movement have fully divested from fossil fuels. The rest coal and
tar sands only.
Quakers in Britain Faith-based Organization UK Full
United Reformed Church of Scotland Faith-based Organization UK
Full
Student Christian Movement Faith-based Organization UK
Full
Church in Wales Faith-based Organization UK Coal and Tar
Sands Only
Church of England Faith-based Organization UK Coal and
Tar Sands Only
Church of England Diocese of Oxford Faith-based Organization
UK Coal and Tar Sands Only
Church of Scotland Faith-based Organization UK Coal and
Tar Sands Only
Methodist Church of Britain Faith-based Organization UK Coal
and Tar Sands Only
Enjoy your day
Susan
On 03/03/2017 10:56, mark wrote: Here's a quick update from the
Durham Divestment Alliance with news and easy actions you can take
to support our campaign.
Durham County Council =====================
Recent FOI requests by Community Reinvest [1] have revealed that
DCC has £128 million directly invested in fossil fuel stocks, and
probably the same amount indirectly. That amounts to 12% of the
total value of their (our) pension fund.
Whether you're a DCC employee who doesn't want to be exposed to
the climate bubble, or a council tax payer who doesn't want your
cash funneled into this destructive industry, you might object to
this.
New rules (the 2016 Investment Regulations) come into effect on
April 1st 2017. This will oblige DCC to publish an Investment
Strategy Statement (ISS) detailing how it intends to address the
financial risks that climate change poses. That means they have to
come off the fence and get real about this challenge.
Fortunately, we have an uncommon opportunity to make our views
heard on this matter, as we're approaching local elections on May
4th. Many candidates are already campaigning, but the deadline for
nominations is not until April 4th, so keep an eye out for late
entrants.
Suggested Actions : -------------------
* Write to DCC Strategic Finance department [2] asking how they
intend to deal with climate risk in their forthcoming ISS; it's
sometimes easier to get these things changed before they're
published.
* Ask all of your local candidates (current councillors and
challengers) how they stand on pension fund divestment, and let
them know you'll be voting for whoever gives the best answer.
* Subscribe to the Durham Divestment Alliance mailing list [3] to
keep informed about this issue and forthcoming actions.
Durham University =================
The university has completed its consultation in which views and
information on divestment were invited. There was a large response
with the strongest arguments and numbers being in favour of
divestment. This is now working its way through different
committees before a conclusion is announced. Big kudos to People &
Planet for their campaigning on this.
Durham Cathedral & Churches ===========================
No feedback has yet reached us about the progress of divestment
proposals in the cathedral or any faith communities, who we know
have large fossil fuel investments. If you have any news on this,
please send it to <a class="m_-4448222898239206883moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:DurhamDivest@lists.aktivix.org" target="_blank">DurhamDivest@lists.aktivix.org</a>
[1] <a class="m_-4448222898239206883moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://communityreinvest.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://communityreinvest.org.<wbr>uk/</a> [2]
<a class="m_-4448222898239206883moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/9931/Corporate-Finance" target="_blank">http://www.durham.gov.uk/<wbr>article/9931/Corporate-Finance</a> [3]
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