Harvard Climate Advocates Cautiously Optimistic After Release of Climate Report

Harvard climate advocates gave mixed reactions to Harvard Management Company’s publication of its annual climate report. The report, released last week, details a drop in the Harvard fossil fuel investments, which now represent less than 2 percent of the endowment.

Currently, Harvard’s investments in the fossil fuel industry are worth about $1 billion of its $50.7 billion endowment. Climate transition investments — which HMC wrote will hopefully “help drive sustainable development and job growth” — compose more than 1 percent of the endowment.

The report also outlined how, for the second consecutive year, HMC’s operations have been carbon-neutral.

In order to sustain operational neutrality, HMC has partnered with companies to calculate the carbon emissions of their operations. The company purchased carbon removal offsets — including biomass carbon removal and storage, direct air capture, mineralization, and biochar — for the emissions that they cannot mitigate.

Separately, HMC has also invested in asset managers focused on early stage funding in technologies that will support the transition to a fossil fuel-free economy.

In line with Harvard’s 2020 decision to achieve net-zero emissions in its endowment, HMC is working to make the endowment portfolio net zero of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The University’s decision to divest from fossil fuels in 2021 followed pressure from climate activist groups on campus.

Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard, a student organization that has fought for Harvard’s divestment, said it was pleased with Harvard’s progress, but concerned about the University’s investments in carbon capture technology.

In a statement written on behalf of the group, Jasmine N. Wynn ’27 wrote that “mitigation approaches generally do make good climate solutions, but carbon capture technologies have a tendency to be promoted by big oil as a greenwashing tactic.”

“We fear that such investments may make Harvard more complicit in promoting climate disinformation,” said Wynn, a Crimson Editorial editor.

According to the report, HMC’s “carbon removal partners meet the highest standards for measurement, reporting, and verification.”

Harvard Law School student Grant S. Pace, another member of FFDH, expressed disapproval about the lack of emissions data in the report.

“It is unacceptable that Harvard does not include emissions from its investment portfolio and activities financed by its endowment,” he wrote in a statement.

According to the report, HMC is currently working towards quantifying the endowment’s emissions impact.

“To gather accurate data across a diversified portfolio, HMC must account for the variety of challenges that each asset class presents,” the report reads. “As the necessary time and resources are allocated to address the details of each asset class, HMC anticipates it is still several years away from publicly reporting financed emissions.”

Jack G. Towers ’25, a member of Harvard Undergraduates for Environmental Justice, wrote in a statement that he is personally optimistic about the school’s progress.

“I think any progress toward divestment is good news,” he wrote. “Continued accountability should be applied, but this tentatively feels like one place where student activism has been successful in pushing the needle forward.”

Clarification: April 9, 2024

This article has been updated to clarify that the Harvard Management Company purchased high-quality carbon removal offsets and has also separately invested in technologies that are intended to support a transition to a fossil fuel-free economy.

Correction: April 9, 2024

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Harvard Management Company’s investments are carbon-neutral. In fact, the HMC’s operations are carbon-neutral.

—Staff writer Xinni (Sunshine) Chen can be reached at sunshine.chen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sunshine_cxn.

—Staff writer Christie E. Beckley can be reached at christie.beckley@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cbeckley22.