Several of the UK’s most august institutions have become the latest to sell their shares in fossil-fuel companies, in a PR boost to campaigners arguing for rapid action to tackle climate change.

The Royal Society of Arts, a charity founded in 1754 whose past fellows include Charles Dickens and Adam Smith and present fellow Sir David Attenborough, said on July 5 it will sell all the oil and gas shares it holds in its £17m of investment and endowment funds.