A coalition of more than 250 literary professionals, including writers, journalists, and book industry workers, have issued a strong statement to the asset manager Baillie Gifford, urging them to divest from both the fossil fuel industry and companies associated with Israeli military and defence operations. This demand coincides with the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic. It refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. 

Some of the notable signatories include authors George Monbiot, Naomi Klein, Grace Blakeley, Robert Macfarlane, and Sally Rooney.

“Baillie Gifford currently has between £2.5 – £5bn invested in the fossil fuel industry and nearly £10 billion invested in companies with direct or indirect links to Israel’s defence, tech and cybersecurity industries, including Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet,” the statement revealed. In December 2023, Baillie Gifford was named a “Top European investor in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” by a coalition of civil society groups.

Read: Fossil Free Books urges Baillie Gifford to divest from fuels and certain investments

The coalition’s statement spoke about the tangible impact of divestment. “As university encampments around the world have pointed out, divestment is not abstract. Until the firm agrees to divest, we call on all literary organisations, including festivals, to end their relationships with Baillie Gifford. If our demand is not met, we reaffirm our commitment to take action through disruption and by withdrawing our labour.”

Read: Top authors call on Baillie Gifford to end fossil fuel ties

Many book workers have apparently already taken steps to withdraw from participation in Baillie Gifford-funded festivals in 2024, including the Hay Festival and Edinburgh International Book Festival. The statement warned of the potential rise of protests: “Literary organisations can expect escalation, including the expansion of boycotts, increased author withdrawal of labour, and increased disruption until Baillie Gifford divests.”

Highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the statement noted that over 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including more than 14,500 children. “This is the highest daily death rate of any major conflict this century. The Israeli military is also destroying the cultural life and heritage of Palestine.” Omar Robert Hamilton, the Director of the Palestine Festival of Literature, remarked, “Every single university in Gaza has been destroyed, journalists are being killed at an unprecedented rate, cultural centres, archives, printing presses, bookshops, publishing houses – all have been intentionally targeted by Israel’s precision bombs.”

Read: Zadie Smith faces backlash for essay on Gaza campus protests

The coalition linked these atrocities to the financial backing of companies in Baillie Gifford’s portfolio. “In addition to companies linked to the Israeli military, Baillie Gifford is also currently invested in Cemex, Cisco Systems, and Booking Holdings. The maintenance and expansion of Israeli settlements is illegal under international law and ‘gives rise to individual criminal liability as war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.’ All three of these companies have been condemned by numerous human rights organisations for their business involvement in the illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.”

Solidarity with Palestine and climate justice are interconnected, according to the coalition. Friends of the Earth International stated: “Our liberation struggle is interconnected with global movements advocating for Indigenous rights, land rights, the fight against the fossil fuel industry, and climate colonialism.”

Fossil Free Books claims that as well as their investments in Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide, Baillie Gifford’s investments include fossil fuel companies such as Shell, Petrobras, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and Equinor.

Read: EGM vote at SoA rejects ceasefire call but backs fossil fuel divestment

The coalition called for immediate action: “In accordance with the resolution on fossil fuel divestment passed by the Society of Authors in May 2024 by an overwhelming majority of members, we demand that Baillie Gifford divest from this disastrous process.”

Fossil Free Books stated it envisions a literary industry free from fossil fuels, genocide, and colonial violence. “Institutional investors far bigger than Baillie Gifford, such as the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, are already divesting. We make these demands in the spirit of a just transition, a process of creating work for all – including work in literature – which does not depend on the profits of colonialism and environmental destruction. We know this will take work. It is work we are committed to, and we are calling on everyone to join us.”

Baillie Gifford denies links with Israeli state and fossil fuel firms

Baillie Gifford responded to the accusations about their investments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, stressing the distinction between their large-scale and minor investments and accusing activists of misleading the public. The firm outlined their investment structure, revealing substantial holdings in major tech corporations and minimal investments in companies with direct connections to the territories in question.

“The suggestion that Baillie Gifford is a large investor in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is seriously misleading. It is based on conflating two different types of exposure,” a Baillie Gifford spokesperson told How To Be Books. They clarified, “We are large investors in several multinational technology companies, such as Amazon, NVIDIA and Meta (our clients have approx. $19bn invested in these three), that have commercial dealings with the state of Israel that are tiny in the context of their overall business. Practically every consumer and investor in the developed world is using the services of these companies.”

In addition, the firm highlighted its smaller-scale investments, “We are also small investors in three companies that have been identified as having either connections to the Israeli state or activities in the occupied territories, namely AirBnB, Booking.com and Cemex (approx. $300m invested in these three). We have been engaging with those companies. This work has been going on since the conflict broke out and in all three cases progress has been made.”

Read: Greta Thunberg quits Edinburgh Book Fest: greenwashing claims

Baillie Gifford criticised the misrepresentation of their investment activities, stating, “By deliberately conflating these two categories, one of which is 63 times larger than the other, the activists are painting an inaccurate picture and attempting to mislead the public.”

The firm also stated its ethical commitments and limitations as an asset manager. “We are a private business managing other people’s money, not our own. In our highly regulated industry, there are some absolute ethical boundaries we follow, as do all UK asset managers. These relate to national laws, regulations, and sanctions,” they explained.

The company added that decisions on ethical investment issues are client-driven, “When it comes to subjective ethical situations relating to sectors (such as fossil fuels) or countries (such as Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories), our clients set the parameters and determine what to exclude or divest. We are not able to make exclusions of that nature based on our own ethical judgements, or in response to pressure from outside groups. Our fiduciary duty to the people or organisations who control the money we manage, is always our overriding priority.”

Read: Edinburgh Book Festival: Mikaela Loach walks out over sponsor

Baillie Gifford also reiterated their relatively small investment in fossil fuels, “We are not a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. This compares to the market average of 11%. Of those companies, some have already moved most of their business away from fossil fuels, and many are helping to drive the transition to clean energy.”

The firm underlined its commitment to societal contributions, “Baillie Gifford is a long-standing supporter of literature and the arts. This support is driven by our contention that we should contribute to the communities in which we operate, in the hope that the organisations we work with gain lasting benefits.”

The statement is open for signing by all book workers. To sign, please fill out the form available through Fossil Free Books.