Liam shares this latest news on behalf of Green MEP for the South East, Keith Taylor. OnTheWight has requested a comment from IWC. Ed
Isle of Wight is revealed to invest £43 million in fossil fuels, almost 8% of its pensions. Across the UK, councils are investing £16.1 billion in the fossil fuel industry.
Compared to 2015 data, investments in fossil fuels by councils nationally have gone up in real terms (from £14bn) and did not change significantly in proportion to the size of the pension funds.
No change since Paris Agreement
Councils have not made any significant changes to their investments in response to calls from the climate movement, governments, and shareholders to take climate risk into account, in the two years since the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The data and online map released by 350.org, Platform, Energy Democracy Project, and Friends of the Earth ranks councils by their fossil fuel investments and allows residents to see every company or fund their local council has invested into.
Taxpayers’ money pumped into “morally bankrupt industries”
Commenting on the revelations, Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East and Vice President of the Local Government Association, said:
“It’s shocking to see such huge sums of Isle of Wight taxpayers’ money pumped into climate destructive, financially risky and, frankly, morally bankrupt industries.
“At a time when the renewable energy industry is one of the fastest growing in the world it makes no sense for Isle of Wight Council to still be investing in fossil fuels. With the right investment, the Island could be a world-class centre for renewable energy.
“Representatives from across the globe are in Germany right now at COP23 to put together an effective plan to implement the Paris Agreement which the UK government signed up to two years ago. The accord commits Britain and every other country in the world – apart from America – to taking real action to tackle climate change.
“At a time when the Conservative Government has already admitted the UK is on course to miss its vital climate targets, it is unforgivable that the Tory-run Isle of Wight Council is also burying its head in the sand when it comes to the climate crisis and our commitments under the Paris Agreement.
“Climate change isn’t a shadowy spectre looming on some distant horizon – it is happening now. The need for bold action has never been more urgent. Just 100 multinational fossil fuel companies are responsible for more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, the time for our councils to cut their ties with the dirty industries fuelling climate change is long overdue.”
Climate Change a reality
George Guivalu Nacewa, Fiji Climate Warrior attending the COP23 talks in Bonn which are being presided over by the Fijian Prime Minister, said:
“In the Pacific, the impacts of climate change are not a debate, it is our reality. We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. We no longer have time to talk. Now is the time to act.”
The UK government mandated local governments to combine their pension investments into eight pools from 2015. Isle of Wight’s pool (Access) invests 1.8 billion out of its 34.9 billion into fossil fuels.
Divesting from fossil fuels
Several local authorities already committed to divest their pensions from fossil fuels. Examples of councils making pension fund investments into clean energy infrastructure and public goods include:
Strathclyde Pension Fund invested £10 million in Albion Community Power, who own hydro stations with the capacity to power 4,000 homes.
Falkirk Pension Fund provided £30 million for a major programme of 190 new homes, including council housing, in the Forth Valley.
Lancashire County Council invested £12 million into Westmill Solar Co-operative, a community-owned solar farm.
Investment choice can be influenced by environmental considerations
In March 2014, following a clarification from the UK Law Commission on the interpretation of fiduciary duty, the Local Government Association (LGA) (England & Wales) published a legal opinion on how fiduciary duties affected the scope of a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), concluding that “the precise choice of investment may be influenced by wider social, ethical or environmental considerations, so long as that does not risk material financial detriment to the fund”.
