THE University of Reading (UoR) has cut its investment in fossil fuels by more than half in the past year – after pressure from students.

The university’s £63million endowment fund now has £729,575 invested in Royal Dutch Shell.

That’s according to financial statements recently published, which show what the fund is invested in as of July 31. 

Last year, the university had £2,628,305 in fossil fuels, as of July 31, 2018, according to the previous statements. 

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As well as Shell, this included BP and Total. But the university has now divested from the latter two companies, and Shell is now the only fossil fuel company left. 

UoR started to divest from fossil fuels in 2016, after pressure from students. 

Many universities across the country are also divesting from fossil fuels, and several have active student campaign groups driving the divestment. 

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A UoR spokesperson said: “The University of Reading is a world leader in environmental research and is making significant progress to reduce its footprint in both carbon emissions and sustainability including aligning our investments with our values.”

The university is currently choosing a new firm to manage its investments. A new manager should be appointed in early 2020.

The manager will be required to show they can meet UoR’s ‘requirements around ethical and responsible long-term planning, including climate change’.

Professor Robert Van De Noort, vice chancellor, said: “This is a major step towards making good on our longstanding commitment to align our investments with our values.

“I am pleased that we are now progressing this work more quickly.”