Scientists should tell investors about climate, carbon and divestment

If investors want to know whether their portfolios are contributing to dangerous climate change, they should be able to find out. Right now, they can't

If the Guardian's aim with its Keep it in the Ground campaign is to draw attention to the issue of fossil fuel divestment, then they have already succeeded. The Paris financial community is turning out in force on Thursday to talk about the merits of selling shares in oil, coal and gas companies ahead of UN climate talks in December - versus the alternative of keeping the shares and engaging with directors. Companies are keen to be (and be seen to be) on top of this issue.

I just wish, if all this energy is to be devoted to the divestment issue, the campaign could focus on something more relevant to preventing dangerous climate change than whether or not a couple of charities hold shares in some not-very-profitable coal companies. The Guardian's campaign focuses on persuading the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies. So far, both have declined to do so. Many UK and US universities are under heavy pressure to "divest from coal" - whatever that means.