Fossil fuel divestment and climate change : Reviewing contested arguments
Braungardt, Sibylle (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI)
van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Dunlop, Tessa (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2019
Abstract:	The strategy of fossil fuel divestment has attracted considerable attention in recent years, particularly in the press and social media. Spearheaded as a movement based on ethical principles, divestment has been suggested to play a potential role in shaping public opinion and policymaking on climate change. The growing size of the movement has prompted debate about the extent of its impact on fossil fuel companies and climate change mitigation efforts. This article investigates the potential effectiveness of the divestment movement according to the end goal of climate campaigners - to bring about a complete break from fossil fuels. We collect and qualify the key arguments as found mainly in the informal debate, and to a lesser extent in the academic literature. This will help readers to make an informed judgement that can contribute to a constructive debate about the effectiveness of divestment. We organize the literature into arguments for and against divestment, and explain how these relate to each other. In addition, we derive suggestions for further research on divestment.
Grants:	European Commission 741087 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MDM-2015-0552
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Divestment ; Carbon bubble ; Fossil-free ; Stranded carbon ; Green finance
Published in:	Energy research & social science, Vol. 50 (April 2019) , p. 191-200, ISSN 2214-6296

DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2018.12.004

Postprint 21 p, 717.0 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Environmental and Climate Economics (ECE)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles