An MSP has called on Renfrewshire Council for the “immediate end” of their investments in fossil fuels.
It’s been revealed that a pension fund covering Renfrewshire Council has £803 million invested in fossil fuels but, Ross Greer, Green MSP for the West of Scotland has called for the immediate end of these investments.
The MSP believes the investments pose a clear risk to those whose pensions are dependent on the fund and which contribute towards the global climate change crisis.
New research from Friends of the Earth Scotland has found that Strathclyde Pension Fund, which covers Renfrewshire, still invests £803 million in fossil fuels. This comes despite growing evidence that the fossil fuel industry is unstable & risky for investments and after the UK’s support of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, which enshrines a commitment to direct money towards low emissions activities.
Ross Greer tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling on all local authorities in Scotland to follow the lead of Southwark in London, who have recently divested £1.2 billion from fossil fuels, and respect their obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement to divest their pension pots from climate-wrecking activates. The Friends of the Earth Scotland report found that over £1.8 billion is currently invested in fossil fuels by Scottish council pension funds.
Ross Greer, said: “Pension funds have a legal duty to do what is in the best interests of those who pensions they hold. Now that the evidence so strongly shows fossil fuels to be poor and risky investment choices, it’s time to urgently divest and end this contribution towards the climate change crisis. I’ve met refugees forced to flee due to natural disasters fuelled by climate change, I’ve spoken to residents here who have been flooded out of their homes by increasingly severe weather and I’ve seen the assessments showing just how at risk huge areas of the West of Scotland are from these events. We have so little time left to stop this but we still can.
“I have tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament highlighting the extent of local council pensions invested in climate-destroying activities and calling for these funds to be divested.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “The Council is a member of the Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF) which manages the pensions over 200 public, education and charitable bodies.
“We have representation on the SPF Board which undertakes a consultative role and does not make decisions on investment strategy.
“We take our responsibilities seriously with regard to investments in the fund by our workforce and work closely with the SPF to ensure contributions are secure and managed effectively.
“The Fund agreed a socially responsible investment strategy in 2000 which ensures that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) concerns are fully considered in their investment strategy.
“Investments undertaken by the Fund are managed in accordance with the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and it has carried out its first carbon foot-printing of portfolios, which confirmed that the Fund’s portfolios are less carbon intensive than a market neutral strategy.
“The Council will continue to work closely with the Fund on behalf of its workforce to monitor the investments made and provide its view on future strategy, taking climate change issues into consideration.”