LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - BP Chief Executive BobDudley on Tuesday urged Cambridge University not to yield topressure from hundreds of students and academics to cut itsinvestments in fossil fuels and pointed to BP's donations to theuniversity.
"We donate and do a lot of research at Cambridge so I hopethey come to their senses," Dudley told the AIPN InternationalPetroleum Summit.
BP did not immediately disclose how much it has beendonating to the university.
In 2015/16 it gave grants worth around 1.4 million pounds,according to Cambridge, and in 2000 a 22 million pound donationfrom BP helped to create the BP Institute for Multiphase Flow,which focuses on research in surfaces and particles and fluiddynamics.
Cambridge said the University Council will publish itsdecision on whether it will change its investments after yearsof campaigning by students and academics after a meeting nextmonth.
A spokesman for BP said after Dudley's comments that he doesnot expect the group's relationship with Cambridge to change.
"One should not infer from Bob’s comments that he was in anyway linking our support of Cambridge with the University’sdecision on whether or not to divest from the oil and gasindustry."
Last week, about 350 Cambridge academics signed a letter tothe university and its colleges, which enjoy a certain degree ofindependence from the university's central administration, toexcise fossil fuel investments from the roughly 6.3 billionpounds ($8.81 billion) at their disposal.
"We ... call on the university's investment office toimmediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuel companies,and to divest from direct ownership and any commingled fundsthat include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bondswithin five years," an open letter said.
Signatories include chemist David King, who was Britain'sSpecial Representative for Climate Change until last yearfollowing his seven-year stint as the government's ChiefScientific Advisor.
Activists in the Cambridge Zero Carbon Society said theyreceived a letter on Monday from vice-Chancellor Stephen Toopewhich stated the university had a leadership role inunderstanding and tackling climate change.
"The objective ... is to promote and execute urgent andtangible action to deliver a carbon neutral future. TheUniversity is already taking steps that must be further expandedin the areas of its investments, research, education, estate andpolicy decisions," Toope's letter said.
This mirrored Cambridge's response when asked about Dudley'scomments.
A spokesman for the activist group said in response toDudley, "if the University is unable to divest its endowment inline with the democratic wishes of students and staff due tothese threats, then there is no longer academic independence atCambridge."
The world's top oil and gas companies are facing risingpressure from investors to shift to cleaner energy andrenewables in order to meet international targets to sharplyreduce carbon emissions by the end of the century.
Dudley said that BP was going to invest around $500 millionper year in renewables in the coming years, but that the worldwill need oil and gas "for many years to come."
($1 = 0.7154 pounds)(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla, Editing byAlexandra Hudson, William Maclean)
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