The University of Bedfordshire has become the second academic institution in the UK to commit to not investing in the fossil fuel industry.

It is part of the university’s ethical investment strategy, which prevents it from investing in coal, oil and gas companies.

It follows the University of Glasgow, which announced it would begin divesting £18 million from oil and gas firms last year.

Bill Rammell, Vice Chancellor at Bedfordshire University said: “We ensure that all investment decisions are made responsibly and take seriously the threat of climate change. Therefore we took the decision not to invest in specific sectors such as fossil fuels and this is written into our ethical strategy.”

People and Planet, a student network which campaigns to protect the environment, estimates UK universities currently invest around £5.2 billion in the fossil fuel industry.