Wellcome Trust sells stakes in large oil and mining companies

theguardian.com:

One of the UK’s biggest philanthropic investors has quietly sold its stakes in large oil and mining companies such BP and Shell.

The Wellcome Trust is one of the biggest funders of scientific research in the UK with a £38bn investment fund. For almost a decade it has resisted pressure from organisations, including the Guardian, who argued that profiting from fossil fuel companies was incompatible with the Trust’s objective of improving public health and wellbeing.

Wellcome Trust staff were told on Tuesday that the organisation has stopped investing in large oil and mining companies. However, in a sign of the complicated politics around such a decision, the organisation said it would not actively seek press coverage of the decision.

A leaked internal memo, seen by the Guardian, said the Wellcome Trust had not previously given a running commentary on investments in fossil fuel businesses as it is “not helpful for us to share everything in public about discussions we have with companies”.

Staff were told: “For us to have influence, we need effective relationships. As with Wellcome’s other advocacy work, where we have challenging conversations with governments, international bodies or partners, it’s not helpful for us to share everything in public about discussions we have with companies. Doing so risks damaging our relationships and our reputation as a reliable and trustworthy partner, and means we lose influence.”

The memo to staff, sent on the UK’s hottest-ever day amid the ongoing climate crisis, said divestment from BP and Shell was entirely unrelated to the decade-long campaign to sell its holdings in the companies.

Instead, the Wellcome Trust said the decision to sell its holdings in the companies – as well as the miners