King's College London fully divests from fossil fuels

1st April 2021

King’s College London has fully divested from all fossil fuels almost two years ahead of schedule.
Since making a commitment to a full divestment target in 2017, King's College London have steadily reduced the exposure to fossil fuels from 7.3 per cent in 2017 to zero in 2021.

Professor Evelyn Welch, Interim Principal and Provost (Arts & Sciences) said: "I am delighted to announce that King’s has fully divested from fossil fuels, two years in advance of our original target. This is a remarkable collective achievement and demonstrates our commitment to taking climate action. This is all part of our mission of being in service to society and ensuring a positive future for our university and our shared planet."

Kat Thorne, Director of Sustainability added: "It is inspiring to see so many King’s students and staff take part in our sustainability initiatives. The divestment target is a fantastic example of a student campaign that has led to real change at the university. We are currently working towards co-creating our Climate Action Plan with students and staff from across King’s, and their diverse views are invaluable in developing a challenging plan for King's that will deliver meaningful change."

The journey towards divestment has been guided by calls from students and staff for King’s to take action. They formed the Socially Responsible Investment Review Committee following the Fossil Free KCL campaign in 2016 and made a commitment to partial divestment and full divestment the following year.
As an institution that is committed to acting in service to society, KCL recognise that maximising the positive impacts is as important as reducing negative impacts. Reinvesting the endowment in funds with socially responsible benefits is therefore an important part of KCL's Ethical Investment Policy.

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