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Harvard’s Fossil-Fuel Divestment Provides Opening for the Nation’s Wealthiest Foundations to Follow Suit
In his Friday announcement of Harvard’s long-delayed decision to divest from fossil fuels, university President Lawrence Bacow wrote, “Harvard must stand among leaders in addressing this challenge.”
The move by the world’s richest university and arguably one of the most recognizable and influential institutions worldwide all but guarantees that others will soon follow. Harvard may have been late to the game — and, for a while, played for the opposing team — but its impact on the divestment movement will be historic.
In the hours that followed the announcement, climate activist and Harvard alum Bill McKibben wrote on Twitter, “You know who’s really sad that Harvard was forced to divest today? The presidents of Yale and Princeton.”