These Colleges Have Divested From Fossil Fuels

Evan Castillo
By
Updated on September 19, 2023
Edited by
These U.S. colleges and universities have either partially or fully committed to divest from fossil fuel companies to combat climate change.
BERKELEY, CA - MAY 14: Protestors hold signs during a demonstration outside of a building that is being constructed on the U.C. Berkeley campus and is funded by British Petroleum May 14, 2010 in Berkeley, California. Dozens of protestors from San Francisco Bay Area environmental groups held a demonstration in response to the April 20 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and resulting massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Credit: Image Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News / Getty Images

  • More than 100 U.S. schools have committed in some way to divest from fossil fuels.
  • New York University is the latest university to commit to complete fossil fuel divestment.
  • Divestment as a strategy began as a worldwide reponse to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Colleges and universities have led divestment movements for decades, starting in the 1970s and 1980s when students pressured their schools to divest from companies that supported the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Fossil fuel divestment is the act of de-investing from the fossil fuel industry, namely companies that profit from the extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas.

Many colleges and universities have direct relationships with fossil fuels either through their endowments or research funding.

Divesting from fossil fuels is one way to combat climate change because it removes finances from business indirectly funding the climate crisis.

New York University (NYU) is the latest to join the fossil fuel divestment movement by committing to divest fully from all fossil fuel companies. NYU said it currently owns no public securities in the fossil fuel industry, will avoid direct investment, and will reduce indirect exposure to fossil fuels by seeking investment in commingled funds.

The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database keeps record of institutions’ commitments around the world to divest from fossil fuels. The database is managed by climate activism organization Stand.earth in partnership with 350.org.

According to the database, education institutions make up 15.5% of the 1,552 institutions globally divesting from fossil fuels. The total approximate value of all the institutions divesting is $40.5 trillion.

BestColleges gathered all U.S. colleges and universities from the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database.

List of Colleges and Universities That Have Divested From Fossil Fuels

Last Updated: Sept. 19, 2023, at 10:31 a.m. EST

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

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Data provided by The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database managed by Stand.earth in partnership with 350.org.

  • *Fossil fuel free
  • *P=Partial
  • *C=Coal only
  • *C&T=Coal and Tar Sands