Devi Lockwood writes:

Figuring out exactly how much of Harvard’s endowment is invested in oil, gas and coal companies is a near-impossible task. Harvard is required to disclose only direct investments in which the university owns shares of a specific company.

Harvard says its direct investments amounted to $394 million as of May 2019, or roughly 1 percent of the endowment total. Divest Harvard, a student group, determined that of that approximate amount, $5.6 million was invested in companies that produce or own reserves of oil, natural gas and coal, and large electric utilities powered by natural gas and coal.

Harvard doesn’t comment on its individual investments. But in 2015, the South Pole Group, a carbon finance consultant in Zurich, analyzed $989 million of Harvard’s then $36.4 billion endowment at the request of Divest Harvard and 350.org. Based on those investments, the group estimated that the overall endowment was responsible for annual emissions of 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to the annual emissions from Delaware. [Continue reading…]