Divestment sustainability-10-02529.pdf (556.55 kB)
Impacts of the fossil fuel divestment movement: effects on finance, policy and public discourse
The fossil fuel divestment movement campaigns for removing investments from fossil fuel companies as a strategy to combat climate change. It is a bottom-up movement, largely based in university student groups, although it has rapidly spread to other institutions. Divestment has been criticised for its naiveté and hard-line stance and dismissed as having little impact on fossil fuel finance. I analyse the impact of divestment through reviewing academic and grey literature, complemented by interviews with activists and financial actors, using a theoretical framework that draws on social movement theory. While the direct impacts of divestment are small, the indirect impacts, in terms of public discourse shift, are significant. Divestment has put questions of finance and climate change on the agenda and played a part in changing discourse around the legitimacy, reputation and viability of the fossil fuel industry. This cultural impact contributed to changes in the finance industry through new demands by shareholders and investors and to changes in political discourse, such as rethinking the notion of ‘fiduciary duty.’ Finally, divestment had significant impact on its participants in terms of empowerment and played a part in the revitalisation of the environmental movement in the UK and elsewhere.
Funding
Research Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand; G1020; RCUK-RESEARCH COUNCILS UK; EP/K011790/1
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
SustainabilityISSN
2071-1050Publisher
MDPIExternal DOI
Issue
7Volume
10Page range
25291 1-18Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Notes
Part of the CIED project Reorienting investments and divesting from fossil fuel assets, see http://www.cied.ac.uk/project/reorienting-investments-and-divesting-from-fossil-fuel-assets/Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-08-07First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-08-07First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-08-06Usage metrics
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