Hugh Acton, a spokesperson for Climate Action & Resistance VUW, said: “The Victoria University Foundation must follow its promises and end its investments in fossil fuels. It is completely unacceptable for VUW to be invested in climate criminals such as Shell and ExxonMobile, especially when they brand themselves as green and sustainable.”

In 2014, the Vice Chancellor announced that VUW would be taking an “ethical investment stance” and divesting the University Foundation’s money away from fossil fuels. A decade later, evidence reveals that the Foundation still holds significant investments in fossil fuels through third-party investment managers.

An open letter from Climate Action & Resistance VUW, calling for VUW to uphold its pledge, has received over 600 signatures along with support from the VUW students’ associations.

Hugh says that “Students are demanding that the VUW foundation fully disclose their investments, divest completely from fossil fuels, and implement a specific exclusion policy so these investments never happen again.”

“The UN has said that the ‘world is on the edge of a climate abyss’, and climate-destroying fossil fuels do not align with the students’ values, nor the values that VUW claims to hold. This is our future and we must fight for it.”