Pressure on RMIT over fossil fuel investments

October 21, 2016
Issue 
Campaigning for divestment at RMIT.

On October 18, students delivered an open letter to Vice-Chancellor Martin Bean signed by 401 RMIT academics and staff calling on the university to dump its fossil fuel investments.

RMIT is coming under increasing pressure by students and staff to shift its $1.2 billion endowment fund away from coal, oil and gas. Last year, the university said it was investigating its financial exposure to fossil fuel-related industries, developing a responsible investment strategy and exploring alternative investment options in response to the campaign.

The letter comes just weeks after Queensland University of Technology became the second university in Australia to commit to fully divesting its endowment of the top 200 coal, oil and gas companies.

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