WE WANT OUR LOCAL AUTHORITY PENSION SCHEMES TO INVEST IN OUR FUTURE – 100% divestment from fossil fuel companies and carbon-intensive industries by 2025
On Friday 28th August concerned pension scheme members will meet outside Dorset Council’s South Walks House at 12.30pm to remind Dorset Council to stop funding fossil fuels.
In September 2019 Medact Dorset, as part of their national campaign to stop pension funds investing in fossil fuels, attended a meeting of the Dorset Council Pension Fund Committee. Medact supports health professionals working towards a world in which everyone can truly achieve and exercise their human right to health.
They asked the pension fund committee to stop investing in fossil fuels citing that “Fossil fuel driven climate change is already impacting the health of millions and threatens to reverse the last half century of gains in global health. Fossil fuels are also a major contributor to air pollution, which kills 7 million people every year according to the World Health Organisation. This is similar to the number of deaths caused by tobacco each year”. (https://www.medact.org/2020/actions/sign-ons/take-action-to-fight-for-fossil-free-pensions-in-dorset/).
On 12th March 2020 supporters of the environmental action group, Extinction Rebellion, and concerned Pension Fund members held a protest and attended a meeting of the Dorset Council Pension Fund Committee. They asked for the pension fund to ‘Clean up our Pensions’ by divesting from fossil fuel companies. About 7% of the Dorset Council pension ‘pot’ is currently invested in fossil fuel companies, that’s around £140million, or £3,000 each for the circa 47,000 members of the scheme, either paying into the pot or receiving their pension.
Dorset Council Pension Fund is managed by Brunel Pension Partnership. Including Dorset Council there are nine local authorities across the South West plus the Environment Agency in the partnership – this gives the partnership a large financial leverage. Collectively Brunel manages around £30billion of investment on behalf of these pension pots.
Individual members from across the Local Authorities in the Brunel partnership have now come together to form the non-affiliated campaign group South West Action on Pensions (SWAP). The group calls upon Brunel Pension Partnership and the Local Authority stakeholders to end investments in fossil fuels and environmentally damaging carbon-intensive industries, and invest in our future instead.
Across the South West peaceful protests will take place at the same time on Friday 28th August. In Dorset campaigners will meet outside South Walks House, Dorchester, at 12.30pm. A peaceful, socially distanced, protest with those attending being asked to wear a face mask.
Similar events will be happening across towns in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Mike Tunbridge from SWAP said, “Managing pension funds is a risky business. In recognising that the partner authorities they work for have declared climate and ecological emergencies, Brunel has launched its own Climate Change Policy. As a personal member of the scheme it’s good to know they consider climate change is an issue, and have instructed their asset managers to reduce climate change exposures. But their policy does not go far enough, they seem to downplay the severity of the emergency and are reluctant to divest from fossil fuels.
“According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis Divestment Brief (February 2019), the powerful fossil fuel industry is in decline with lagging stock market performance, fewer institutional investors, depressed profits and a weak outlook. Covid-19 has exposed this fragility even further. Now is the time to stop all investment in such industries. Now is the time to look forward to new industries that create a carbon neutral future”.
On 16th July this year Shropshire Council made the historic decision to call on its pension fund to divest from fossil fuels by 2023. Their pension committee are now working on the detail of achieving this. “Shropshire has shown real leadership, they’ve shown it can be done when enough people speak up, ask for change and the Council vote. SWAP supporters want Dorset and South West region to be next. If enough of us in Dorset speak up, we could be next. If any Dorset Council pension members want to find out more information on this campaign please contact us by emailing [email protected] or just turn up on Friday with your mask, and your spirit for positive change!” says Julie-ann Booker who is helping coordinate the campaign across the south west.
