Royal College of Emergency Medicine and Royal Society of Arts quit fossil fuel investments

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) have today announced plans to divest their entire portfolios from fossil fuel companies as the divestment trend in London hots up.

The news comes just a day after the National Trust announced plans to divest its £1bn portfolio from any investment in fossil fuel companies over the next three years.

The RCEM said today it has already divested its £1.3m portfolio of fossil fuel stocks to mark London Climate Action Week, asit sought to respond to "ever-growing" concerns about the impact of fossil fuels on public and environmental health.

Meanwhile, the RSA said it will fully divest its £17m portfolio from any fossil fuel-related company, adding that while it believes in engagement to promote change "the time has come" to remove its money from the oil and gas industry.

"Engagement remains an invaluable tool for investors in promoting positive social, environmental and governance activities within firms, across a host of issues from modern slavery to mental health," said Josie Warden, a senior researcher at the RSA. "However, the energy transition we need requires that we halt exploration, extraction and reduce the supply of fossil fuels and instead focus on sustainable energy solutions.

"Making financial flows consistent with this ambition is critical, and the RSA believes that to achieve this the time has come to divest holdings in fossil fuel firms."

Neither institution was willing to reveal how much money it had invested in fossil fuel firms, although the RSA did claim it had "very limited exposure" to fossil fuels in its portfolio.

The divestment movement is gathering pace, with more institutions - and even countries - responding to campaigners' warnings of the financial, ethical, and reputational risks associated with carbon intensive firms.

In London, three medical royal colleges, eight local authority pension funds, 10 universities, and four church groups have all committed to divesting from fossil fuels, representing billions of pounds of capital.

The two colleges today urged all the capital's other local authorities, universities, and religious institutions to follow suit.

Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey, who is campaigning to become leader of his party, stressed institutions must now redirect divested cash into low carbon energy projects.

"Reinvestment is just as important, to supercharge a new low carbon economy - so trillions are switched into renewables and green tech," he said. "By divesting fossil fuels and re-investing in climate solutions, major institutions can use their capital to support green infrastructure development and drive the climate action that is so sorely needed."