Divestment Commitments
Institutions and political leaders in Scotland are going fossil free
Divest Scotland Campaign pledges
We’re campaigning for the Scottish Parliament and Government to end investments in fossil fuels. Find out more about the campaign on our main divestment page.
The Divest Scotland pledge reads:
“I pledge to support the Scottish Government and Parliament divesting from fossil fuels and investing in a just transition to a zero carbon economy over an appropriate time-scale.”
As of January 2022 46 current and former MSPs have signed the pledge:
Current MSPs
- Alex Cole-Hamilton / Liberal Democrats / Edinburgh Western
- Alex Rowley / Scottish Labour / Mid-Scotland Fife
- Alison Johnstone / Presiding Officer / Lothian
- Ariane Burgess / Scottish Green Party / Highlands and Islands
- Carol Mochan / Scottish Labour / South Scotland
- Christine Grahame / Scottish National Party / Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
- Claire Baker / Scottish Labour / Mid Scotland and Fife
- Colin Smyth / Scottish Labour / South Scotland
- Collette Stevenson / Scottish National Party / East Kilbride
- Daniel Johnson / Scottish Labour / Edinburgh Southern
- Foysol Choudhury / Scottish Labour / Lothian
- Gillian MacKay / Scottish Green Party / Central Scotland
- Jackie Baillie / Scottish Labour / Dumbarton
- John Mason / Scottish National Party / Glasgow East
- Katy Clark / Scottish Labour / West Scotland
- Maggie Chapman / Scottish Green Party / North East Scotland
- Marie McNair / Scottish National Party / Clydebank and Milngavie
- Mark Ruskell / Scottish Green Party / Mid-Scotland and Fife
- Martin Whitfield / Scottish Labour / South Scotland
- Mercedes Villalba / Scottish Labour / North East Scotland
- Michael Marra / Scottish Labour / North East Scotland
- Monica Lennon / Scottish Labour / Central Scotland
- Neil Bibby / Scottish Labour / West of Scotland
- Patrick Harvie / Scottish Green Party / Glasgow
- Paul McLennan / Scottish National Party / East Lothian
- Paul Sweeney / Scottish Labour / Glasgow
- Rhoda Grant / Scottish Labour / Highlands & Islands
- Richard Leonard / Scottish Labour / Central Scotland
- Ross Greer / Scottish Green Party / West of Scotland
- Sarah Boyack / Scottish Labour / Lothian
- Siobhian Brown / Scottish National Party / Ayr
- Stuart McMillan / Scottish National Party / Greenock & Inverclyde
Former MSPs
- Andy Wightman / Independent / Lothian
- Cara Hilton / Scottish Labour / Dunfermline
- Claudia Beamish / Scottish Labour / South Scotland
- Elaine Smith / Scottish Labour / Central Scotland
- Iain Gray / Scottish Labour / East Lothian / South Scotland
- Jayne Baxter / Scottish National Party / Mid-Scotland and Fife
- Jenny Marra / Scottish Labour / North East Scotland
- Johann Lamont / Scottish Labour / Glasgow
- John Finnie / Scottish Green Party / Highlands & Islands
- Mark McDonald / Independent / Aberdeen Donside
- Mary Fee / Scottish Labour / West of Scotland
- Marco Biagi / Scottish National Party / Edinburgh Central
- Neil Findlay / Scottish Labour / Lothian
Scottish organisations divesting
A total of 19 Scottish organisations have now committed to divest their funds from, or formally cut sponsorship ties with, fossil fuel companies.
Fossil free investors:
- Church of Scotland (May 2021)
- Edinburgh Napier University (May 2021)
- University of Dundee (Nov 2020)
- University of Stirling (Mar 2019)
- SCIAF (Apr 2018)
- University of Edinburgh (Jan 2018)
- Glasgow Caledonian University (Nov 2017)
- University of Abertay (Nov 2016)
- University of the West of Scotland (Nov 2016)
- Queen Margaret University (2015)
- United Reform Church in Scotland (Mar 2015)
- University of Glasgow (Oct 2014)
Fossil sponsorship free:
Local councils formally endorsing divestment:
- City of Edinburgh Council (Nov 2022)
- East Lothian Council (Oct 2022)
- Stirling Council (May 2021)
- Glasgow City Council (Apr 2021)
- West Dunbartonshire Council (Jun 2019)
A number of other Scottish organisations have also made partial commitments.
Other political pledges
The majority of Scotland’s MPs have supported the independently-organised Divest Parliament campaign. You can see a full list of MP pledges here.
A number of local Councillors have also pledged support for local campaigns. Click through to the local campaigns for details:
Global pledges
For a full list of well over 1,000 organisations which have divested globally click here.
Latest Blogs
Highlights of the fossil-free movement in 2023
2023 was the year that the campaign for fossil fuel divestment took the streets with groups from all corners of the UK rallying for local leaders to ‘Divest from Crisis,…
Scotland’s council pension funds pour £2bn into fossil fuel industry
£2 billion from council pension funds in Scotland is invested in fossil fuel companies, including some of the world’s worst polluters.
This year’s divestment campaign highlights
2022 has been an exciting year for our campaign to call on Scottish councils and MSPs to end their pension fund investments in fossil fuels.
Resources
Annual Review 2022-2023
National Planning Framework 4 Consultation Response
A manifesto for local authorities – 2022 Council Elections
This manifesto sets out some of the priorities for action that parties should champion in their manifestos, and the policies that should be taken to deliver them.