Anglia Ruskin University has signed a pledge not to invest in fossil fuel companies.

It has put its name to the Fossil Fuel Declaration, which is a partnership between the National Union of Students and People & Planet, a student campaigning body.

The university, which has sites in Chelmsford, Cambridge and Peterborough, is one of only 10 UK universities to take such a stance so far.

The university is home to a Global Sustainability Institute, which carries out internationally recognised research in areas around water, energy and social changes associated with a transition to a low carbon economy.

Director of the Institute, Professor Aled Jones, said: “The Fossil Fuel Declaration is not just a recognition of the importance that students place on their university’s wider global responsibility but also that as the world has signed up to transition to a low carbon future these types of investment represent a risk in the short to medium term as policies align with this new future.”