Call to ‘divest’ funds from fossil fuel firms
ENVIRONMENT: Local authorities have been accused of helping to drive climate change amid claims £16bn worth of pension funds has been invested in fossil fuel companies.
Campaign groups are now calling on councils to “divest” or remove pension fund investments from the fossil fuel industry.
LOCAL AUTHORITIES across the country have been accused of helping to drive climate change amid claims £16bn worth of pension funds has been invested in fossil fuel companies.
Energy campaigners say there has been no improvement in the levels of investment in companies which extract coal, oil and gas since 2015, despite pressure on local authorities since the world signed up to the Paris Agreement on tackling global warming.
Campaign groups, launching the figures today as the latest UN international climate talks take place in Bonn, Germany, are now calling on councils to “divest” or remove pension fund investments from the fossil fuel industry.
“Our pension funds are investing in the companies responsible for the climate crisis,” said Jane Thewlis, West Yorkshire Pension Fund member and divestment campaigner.
“This flies in the face of the Paris Agreement, and of all the efforts being made locally to reduce emissions and combat climate change. “It’s time to divest.” The analysis by 350.org, Platform, Energy Democracy Project and Friends of the Earth, is based on figures from Freedom of Information requests, pension reports and official documents.
Some £16.1bn out of a total pension pot of £287.9bn is invested in the fossil fuel industry, campaigners say, with almost £7bn almost directly invested in coal, oil and gas companies and an estimated £9.1bn indirectly through pooled investment vehicles.
Compared to data from 2015, the total value of staff pensions invested in fossil fuels has risen from £14bn, and the share of investment in the sector as a proportion of total pensions funds has declined slightly.
Since 2015, local authorities have combined pension investments into eight regional pools. Campaigners, releasing the figures for the Border to Coast region which incorporates much of Yorkshire, say East Riding has one of the highest investments.
The council invests seven per cent of its funds, or £318m, in fossil fuel companies, campaigners say, compared to 5.8 per cent or £175m in North Yorkshire, and 5.1 per cent or £388 in South Yorkshire.
Authorities in Manchester,
£16BN The total of pension funds which have been invested in fossil fuel companies, campaigners claim
Dumfries and Galloway, Torfaen, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Merseyside were among the most exposed to fossil fuel investments, campaigners claim.
In June UNISON, representing local government workers, passed policy to “seek divestment of Local Government Pension Schemes from fossil fuels over five years giving due regard to fiduciary duty” saying it was “a feasible and sensible strategy for providing a long term return”.
But, campaigners have highlighted councils which were making pension fund investments into clean energy and public goods, including Falkirk Pension Fund providing £30m for a programme of 190 new homes including council housing, Lancashire County Council investing £12m in a community owned solar farm and Strathclyde Pension Fund invested £10m in Albion Community Power, who own hydro stations with capacity to power 4,000 homes.
Some councils have already committed to divesting fossil fuel investments, including Waltham Forest in London.
Waltham Forest Councillor Simon Miller said: “Given current pressures on local authority budgets, our pension funds have a key role to play, not only in making our economy greener and our communities healthier, but as a driver of sustainable, future focused investment in local areas.”