Princeton Endowment Backs Out of Oil and Gas Divestment Pledge

Princeton University’s endowment is backtracking on its pledge to divest from publicly traded oil and gas companies, four years after it said it would exit such holdings as way to move toward a net-zero portfolio.

A trustee-mandated decision to divest from thermal coal and tar sands companies remains in effect, Vincent Tuohey, President of the Princeton University Investment Company, known as Princo, said in a statement Monday.

“It’s not obvious that Princo’s initial approach has moved the endowment meaningfully closer to net-zero, nor is it obvious that major energy companies will be out of bounds for a ...