As of July 2018, the University of Liverpool held £9m of investments in fossil fuel companies like BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil (previous figures have also referenced £12m in investments). Over the past year, student-led demonstrations and petitions as part of a campaign called the Fossil Free campaign have convinced the University Council to divest this money, removing institutional support for the industry. The campaign involved over 1,000 students, 30 societies and clubs and the University and College Union (UCU).

The University’s Director of Finance has stated: “The case to reduce our investments in companies that derive significant revenues from fossil fuel extraction and production has increased with greater awareness of the impact of climate change. […] We will continue to review our investments policy on an annual basis to ensure it supports our values and ethics.”

The Liverpool Guild of Students’ website claims that for every student in the UK, universities invest £1,804 in the fossil fuel industry. The University of Liverpool has committed to selling its remaining fossil fuel assets by 2022. Other UK universities have seen similar movements away from fossil fuel industries, including the University of Cambridge which is currently considering a motion for fossil fuel divestment, and Goldsmiths, University of London, which has decided to divest from companies generating more than 10 per cent of their revenue from fossil fuels by the end of the year.

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