The University of California system has announced its intention to completely divest from fossil fuels. Officials in charge of investments insist that their decision to move toward more “sustainable” and environmentally conscious investments is simply in the practical interest of beneficiaries, rather than a product of political opinion. In an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times , UC chief investment officer and treasurer Jagdeep Singh Bachher and chairman of the UC Board of Regents’ Investments Committee Richard Sherman reasoned that “hanging on to fossil fuel assets is a financial risk.” “That’s why we will have made our $13.4-billion endowment “fossil-free” as of the end of this month, and why our $70-billion pension will soon be that way as well,” the officials explained in the September 17 op-ed. Sherman and Bachher deny that their decision was “born of political pressure,” or that it is a result of “green movement […]