The National Trust will sell all the fossil fuel assets it holds in its 拢1bn investments, saying it no longer wants to be invested in companies that are not doing their part to tackle climate change.
The conservation group has around 拢45m invested in fossil fuel companies including BP, Shell and Total, and expects to have divested most of that in the next year, and entirely within three years.鈥淲e understand that action doesn鈥檛 happen overnight,鈥� says Peter Vermeulen, the charity鈥檚 chief financial officer. 鈥淏ut three years on from the Paris climate deal, we are still not seeing evidence of fossil fuel companies putting enough capital in low carbon investments.鈥�
The move will serve as a stinging criticism of companies such as Shell, which the fact it spends up to $2bn of its annual $25bn capital investment on low carbon technology as a sign it is taking clean energy seriously.
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Vermeulen pointed that shows major oil companies are on average spending just one per cent of capital expenditure on low carbon investments. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to be a relevant player in 10 years time, it needs to be the other way around.鈥�
Green investment
He added that the charity still believed in shareholder engagement with companies. 鈥淲e very strongly believe in engagement. Where engagement doesn鈥檛 work we will divest.鈥�
The National Trust will now direct around 拢25m into green energy firms and companies with an environmental mission that would not be able to start or grow without the capital. Investments have already been made in a wind power and battery technology company.
Fossil fuel divestment campaigners welcomed the move. Anna Vickerstaff of 350.org says: 鈥淭his is a welcome, but belated move from the National Trust.鈥� The divestment is one of the largest by a UK organisation, eclipsing previous sell-offs such as the .
