Merton College Part of Coalition to Stop Financing Fossil Fuel Expansion
A coalition of sixty leading institutions and trusts in UK Higher Education, including Merton College, has been created with the purpose of launching a market for cash products that do not contribute to the financing of fossil fuel expansion.
The institutions involved recognise that new fossil fuel infrastructure can lock in decades of fossil fuel demand and subsequent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which are the main cause of climate change. They seek to avoid financing companies that are constructing new coal- and gas-fired power plants in OECD countries.
Merton’s involvement in the coalition further demonstrates our commitment to our wider sustainability programme. The Governing Body of the College has agreed to adopt 2035 as its target date for achieving net zero carbon and biodiversity net gain in the College and across the College estates.
A Sustainability Working-Group has also been developed to oversee initiatives and meet any challenges as the College moves towards its target. Chaired by the Warden, Professor Jennifer Payne, and reporting to the Governing Body, the Working-Group brings together fellows, students, alumni, and staff of the College, with expert input from around the University and beyond.
The Working-Group is looking at all aspects of the College’s sustainability planning both in Oxford, in its investment portfolio, and in the College’s rural estates, and will be building on what has already been achieved and planned by the College in promoting sustainability and biodiversity.
Fossil fuels are responsible for around 80% of GHG emissions globally.
The new coalition has issued a Request for Proposals (RfP) to financial institutions for cash products such as deposits and money market funds.
Responsible investment is a mainstream part of equities investing, but it is still not widespread in the debt markets even though a large majority of the new capital for companies constructing new fossil fuel power stations or exploring for new reserves comes from debt.
For this reason, the institutions behind the RfP have focused on banks and the bond market as the primary sources of external financing for fossil fuel expansion.
The RfP criteria are based on the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario and are in line with emissions reductions laid out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Report.
