Climate change poses a global threat to vulnerable populations, ecosystems, and resources. It is well understood that combustion of fossil fuels is a major contributor to climate change, and that the world is at a threshold where immediate action is required in order to prevent the majority of the negative effects of climate change. The fossil fuel divestment movement seeks to address the source of the problem, the fossil fuel industry, by shifting investments away from fossil fuels and toward climate solutions such as renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. Many institutions across the globe, including pension funds, insurance companies, faith-based organizations, and universities, have divested $8.05 trillion away from the fossil fuel industry, citing moral, financial, and environmental reasons. The strength in the fossil fuel divestment movement comes from the fact that it is investor-driven, and does not rely on policy to implement significant financial pressure on the fossil fuel industry. This paper will explore the growing fossil fuel divestment movement from an international perspective, and explore the impacts of the movement on environmental policy and the fossil fuel industry. Through evaluation of literature on anthropogenic climate change, including the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, and analysis of various fossil fuel divestment approaches, this paper will review the current international state of fossil fuel divestment while connecting it to the active fossil fuel divestment campaign at UNC Asheville. The growing fossil fuel divestment movement has made significant and tangible financial impact on the fossil fuel industry, and has helped transition global economies towards alternative energy sources. While international momentum is increasing in terms of policy, the fossil fuel divestment movement presents an individual or institutional option for large-scale climate action in countries that are not developing progressive climate policy. The urgency posed by climate change requires comprehensive international attention from policymakers, the public, and organizations. The synthesis of policy and fossil fuel divestment efforts can substantially decrease global emissions and help transition away from fossil fuel energy practices.
