Harvard prepares to fight fossil fuel divestment case in court

Lawyers for Harvard University will appear in court on Friday to fight off attempts to force the world’s richest university to dump coal, oil and gas companies from its $36bn (£23bn) endowment.

A lawsuit filed late last year by seven law students and undergraduates argues the university has a duty to fight climate change by pulling out of fossil fuel companies.

The university and the state of Massachusetts, which is also named in the lawsuit, are asking the judge to dismiss the case.

But a student sit-in at the Harvard president’s offices last week – and the rapid expansion of the campus divestment movement – suggest that the university can expect continued pressure.