03 November 2021

Councils urged to divest pension funds

Campaigners are staging protests across the UK today, calling for councils to divest pension funds from fossil fuels.

The demonstrations have been planned to coincide with COP26, and will include a 70s-themed protest in Glasgow to call on Strathclyde Pension Fund to end its £800m investment in fossil fuels.

A report from Friends of the Earth and campaign group Platform shows councils invest around £10bn in fossil fuels through their pension funds.

The analysis shows that fossil fuels represent 3% of the total value of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Rianna Gargiulo, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: 'While the planet burns, the flames are being fanned by local authority pension funds which have billions of pounds invested in climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

'Councils must play their part in protecting the long-term future of their employees by ending their support for gas, coal and oil, and investing in building a cleaner, safer future for us all.'

#Pensions #Protest

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