Celebrating 15 years of shaping a fossil-free future

“It makes no sense to invest in fossil fuel companies that undermine our future” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

As our divestment campaign comes to an end, we look back on what we’ve won, what we’ve learned and how our fight for a fairer, fossil-free future continues.

If you have ever asked your local council, your university, your faith group or your bank to stop investing in fossil fuels, or if you have ever called on a museum, art gallery or politician not to accept money and sponsorship from the oil and gas industry, thank you. You have been a vital part of one of the biggest climate movements in history – the global divestment campaign to remove public money from fossil fuels. 

With over 1,700 institutions around the world already committing to divest nearly £30 trillion from fossil fuel companies that are fueling climate breakdown and injustice around the world, the divestment movement has played a key role in challenging both the profits and the social acceptance of these companies. 

Building a people-powered movement

From the very start, this has been a people-powered movement. Back in 2008 we joined with students and human rights groups to demand the Royal Bank of Scotland stop funding fossil fuels. Soon after, Bill McKibben and others founded the American divestment campaign which was picked up by student groups.

Together with tens of thousands of people across the UK, we have shown the impact that we can make when we come together, and we’ve demanded that our money is invested for the good of people and the planet, not the profits of big polluters. 

Campaigning for a fossil-free Scotland

Scotland has played a central role in global efforts for climate justice and a fossil-free future. Indeed, students in Glasgow won Europe’s first university divestment commitment.

Other highlights include students and staff winning divestment commitments at universities across Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland dropping BP sponsorship in 2019 following ‘oily’ carol singing in Edinburgh and youth members of the Church of Scotland founding a coalition campaign that resulted in the Church removing its fossil fuel investments ahead of COP26. 

Thanks to the amazing work of many committed individuals and groups, we have seen councils in Edinburgh, East Lothian, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and South Lanarkshire all passing motions to call for the Lothian and Strathclyde Pension Funds to divest while there has also been councillor support for divestment in the Highlands, the Scottish Borders, Tayside, Falkirk and Stirling. 

None of these wins would have been possible without the determination, creativity and positivity of incredible campaigners from across Scotland, and it has been a huge privilege to work with local groups, activists and organisations around the country. 

We’ve had a lot of fun along the way, whether we’ve been organising a tug of war between fossil fuels and green investments in East Lothian, a climate strike march in Falkirk, a divest disobedience rally in Glasgow for COP26 or a theatrical performance in Edinburgh’s High Street.

Most importantly, we have learned that we can make a meaningful difference when we work together.   

Next steps

When we started this campaign 15 years ago, national governments refused to listen to the need to transition away from fossil fuels – so instead we built up our voice in our communities and institutions through divestment. Today we can look back and see how the momentum built from these local campaigns has propelled us forwards through seismic nation-wide victories, with the end of coal power in the UK, an end to offshore drilling licences, and the advent of a homegrown wind and solar.

The UK-wide divestment coalition, UK Divest, wound down at the end of March, including FoES’ divestment work in Scotland. However, this is by no means the end of campaigning for a fossil-free Scotland.

As we move forward with our new, solutions-focused campaigns at FoES, we build on everything that we have won and learned together through the divestment work. 

In Edinburgh and the Lothians, Divest Lothian will be continuing the campaign to divest the Lothian Pension Fund from fossil fuels, and they would love to hear from you if you’d like to get involved: divestlothian@gmail.com.

In the west of Scotland, the coalition campaign with trade union, climate and Palestine solidarity groups will be continuing to call on Strathclyde Pension Fund to end its investments in fossil fuel companies that are complicit in climate breakdown and the genocide in Gaza.

It has been a joy and a huge inspiration to be part of divestment campaigning with you and a massive thank you to everyone who has been involved!