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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 191-200 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Energy Research and Social Science |
| Volume | 50 |
| Early online date | 28 Dec 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2019 |
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Keywords
- Carbon bubble
- Divestment
- Fossil-free
- Green finance
- Stranded carbon
Cite this
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Fossil fuel divestment and climate change : Reviewing contested arguments. / Braungardt, Sibylle; van den Bergh, Jeroen; Dunlop, Tessa.
In: Energy Research and Social Science, Vol. 50, 04.2019, p. 191-200.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Fossil fuel divestment and climate change
T2 - Reviewing contested arguments
AU - Braungardt, Sibylle
AU - van den Bergh, Jeroen
AU - Dunlop, Tessa
PY - 2019/4
Y1 - 2019/4
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Carbon bubble
KW - Divestment
KW - Fossil-free
KW - Green finance
KW - Stranded carbon
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059167790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85059167790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.erss.2018.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.erss.2018.12.004
M3 - Review article
VL - 50
SP - 191
EP - 200
JO - Energy Research & Social Science
JF - Energy Research & Social Science
SN - 2214-6296
ER -