Fossil Free UK - Local Government

Campaigns (52)

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  Powys, Divest from Fossil Fuels!

  Powys County Council has a duty to look out for the public good. Fossil fuels are in direct conflict with the public good: investing in them poses a risk both to investors and to our communities. PCC must take a moral, political and economic stand against them by taking our money away from fossil fuel companies and putting it into investments that are less at risk from climate change legislation and more compatible with our values. Divestment from fossil fuels would make a powerful statement that the fossil fuel industry is morally and economically unviable, and that the people of Powys wish to support an alternative, sustainable energy future that will leave our towns, villages and rural areas in a shape that allows us, our children and grandchildren to live safely in them. Financial research has called into question the valuations of fossil fuel companies due to their reliance on reserves which may become unburnable if carbon legislation comes into effect. So it's a question of our secure economic future as well. Join an international movement to demand divestment as a powerful, effective response to the realities of Climate Change. And protect the money of Powys, our money, from a bad investment.

  280 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Annie L. Marshall
• Ealing Council - Stop Investing in Fossil Fuels!

  The London Borough of Ealing has money invested in the fossil fuel industry. Fossil fuel contributes to carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Scientists say we must reduce this amount of carbon dioxide in order for the planet to be able to continue to support life and civilisation as we know it. The planet is already one degree warmer and glaciers are disappearing, threatening the main source of clean water for millions of people. Sea levels are rising which means some islands are disappearing. Habitats are changing and wildlife and the livelihoods of many communities are at risk. Extreme weather is becoming more common. It's deeply worrying but we can take action. Stopping fossil fuel investment is an important part of tackling global warming and we would like London Borough of Ealing's ties with the fossil fuel industry to be cut.

  207 of 300 Signatures

  Created by KIrstie McLachlan
• Aboyne
  

  Divest Highlands from Fossil Fuels

  Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has encountered. Warming in excess of 2°C will have catastrophic consequences. In order to have a chance of staying below this maximum upper limit of warming 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must not be burnt. The fossil fuel industry currently holds vast carbon reserves which if burnt would result in emissions 5 times larger than what it is deemed to be safe. All available evidence suggests that fossil fuel companies intend to burn the reserves within their control. In addition, companies such as Shell are actively trying to discover new reserves, often in environmentally sensitive regions. If it is wrong to damage the world we live in, then it is wrong to profit from that damage. Responsible investors should no longer be profiting from the destructive activities of these companies. The Highland Council are fully committed to both reducing the Highlands's contribution to climate change as well as safeguarding the Highlands against its impacts. In particular, in May 2019 they declared a climate emergency and agreed to work towards being Carbon neutral by 2025. However their pension fund still retains many investments in highly polluting industries. The Highland Council manages the pensions of its employees and needs to make sure these funds are transferred to investing in low carbon options rather than fossil fuels. Recent financial studies have shown that divestment from fossil fuels may have a small positive effect on investment portfolios in the short term. Moreover, in the long term these fossil fuel investments will become increasingly risky as the cost of extraction increases and international treaties restrict the use of fossil fuels. Not only does it make moral sense not to invest in the destruction of our planet, it also makes financial sense. It is illogical to allow pension funds to endanger those whose futures they seek to protect. Recent publications have highlighted the real dangers posed to Highlands from climate change, including an increased risk of flooding and storm damage. Continuing to invest in the fossil fuel industry contradicts the commitments of the Highland Council By divesting from fossil fuels, the Highland Council will join public institutions such as the British Medical Association, Glasgow University and Oxford City Council, amongst many others, in leading by example to help create a sustainable future it's citizens. So we ask: 1. The Highland Council to make a public statement supporting the principle of divestment and to commit to avoid investment in any bonds, stock or shares connected to fossil fuels. 2. The Highland Council to review their pension fund investments and - Immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies, including those made by externally managed and pooled funds. - Offer a fossil free pension option to employees - Divest from the top 200 companies with the largest known carbon reserves (oil, gas and coal), and shift these funds to lower risk, ethical investments within 5 years 3. The Highland Council must be transparent about its relationship with the fossil fuel industry: - Publish full details of their financial and other ties to the fossil fuel industry - Not accept sponsorship and advertising from fossil fuel companies. - Declare their divestment from the fossil fuel industry in order to encourage other pension funds, institutions and individuals to do the same. 4. The Highland Council must do the above in a timely manner - By setting up a working group to report back on a strategy within three months from the submission of this petition

  193 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Anne Thomas
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  Divest Lambeth from Fossil Fuels

  In order to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change, global warming must not exceed 2°C which means 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must not be used [2]. Evidence indicates that fossil fuel companies intend to burn enough reserves to push global warming far above 2°C, and they even insist on searching for further reserves, often in the world’s most ecologically sensitive areas [3]. The Lambeth Pension Fund has tens of millions of pounds invested in oil and gas [4]. These investments carry a high degree of risk on financial and social grounds. It makes financial sense to divest for as the cost of extraction increases and international treaties restrict the use of fossil fuels these investments will continue to become riskier over time. In support of this movement we ask you to sign our petition, contributing to a better future for citizens of Lambeth and beyond as we move away from reliance on the fossil fuel industry. Who are we? Divest Lambeth is a campaign launched by Lambeth residents to get Lambeth Council to cut its ties with the fossil fuel industry by selling off stocks and shares in coal, oil and gas companies made through the Lambeth Council Pension Fund. We're a local campaign with connections to a growing global movement that has seen local governments, pension funds and public institutions worth over $50 billion (£30 billion) around the world pledge to divest from fossil fuels. References [1] http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-fossil-fuel-divestment-20130222?page=2 [2] http://www.carbontracker.org/report/wasted-capital-and-stranded-assets/ [3] http://www.shell.com/global/future-energy/arctic/exploration-production.html [4] http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ec-Lambeth-Pension-Fund-Annual-Report-and-Appendix-2013-2014.pdf

  182 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Tineka Beard
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  Divest the South Yorkshire Pension Fund

  The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (SYPA) which manages the Local Government Pension Scheme has about £200m invested in companies with fossil fuel connections such as £83m in Shell, £51m in BP and £24m in bhpBilliton (coal) (as at March 2014). It also holds investments in companies which fail to balance their focus on profit with the social and environmental responsibilities expected in the modern day. We believe it is morally indefensible to invest in companies that destroy our climate and so leave to our children a world where life as we know it is unsustainable. And that it is financially irresponsible to invest in such a high risk sector where the experts agree that the assets are currently wildly overstated and where share prices are certain to plummet.

  171 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Ellen Gibson
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  Divest Enfield Council from fossil fuels

  Fossil fuels will soon become obsolete. They are a fuel source that is no longer wanted, as a recognised danger to the health of humans, wildlife, and the planet. They are also a fuel source that is no longer needed, as so many cheap and abundant renewable fuel sources wait to be harnessed. The shift to clean energy is inevitable. In November 2016 the Paris Agreement was ratified: "Recognizing the need for an effective and progressive response to the urgent threat of climate change on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge." However, in November 2017, Fossil Free UK revealed that councils across the UK were investing more than £16billion in the fossil fuel industry. The London Borough of Enfield Pension Fund has itself invested more than £60million in such companies, representing 5.6% of its £1billion total investments. Given the damage that fossil fuels have already caused to our environment, and the growing threat of man-made climate change as a danger both to us and to future generations, fossil fuels represent an unethical investment. But there is also strong evidence that such financial investments are highly risky. Coal use in the UK has fallen by 74% over the past decade, and the government has pledged that all coal-fired power stations will close by 2025. Other fossil fuels such as oil and gas face sharp declines in future, as renewable sources overtake them. The Divest Movement seeks to persuade public institutions that ditching investments in fossil fuel companies is the right decision to make on both a moral and financial basis. Over the border from Enfield, Waltham Forest Council recently became the first UK local authority to fully commit to divest from fossil fuels. If Enfield Council did the same, it too could become a leader in the global shift to a fossil free future.

  169 of 200 Signatures

  Created by James Cracknell
• Worthing
  

  Divest West Sussex County Council pension fund from fossil fuel companies.

  We are in a climate emergency. The recent NASA report states that February 2016 broke global temperatures by a shocking amount and scientists believe that we may be closer to breaching the 2C warming limit, which was set at the recent Paris summit, than previously thought. Therefore it is imperative that fossil fuels stay in the ground.

  147 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Emma Cameron
• Divest South Lakeland From Fossil Fuels

  We feel it is critical to start this process of divestment NOW. 1. As the local authority, it has rigorously set, carbon reduction targets and therefore cannot be 'feeding the fire' by maintaining investments in fossil fuels, as this completely undermines SLDC's commitment to reducing its carbon emissions. 2. If it is wrong to continue to wreck the Earth’s climate, then it follows that it is wrong to profit from that wreckage. There are increasing indications that the profitability of the fossil fuel industry will decrease significantly in coming years. When action is taken to limit global warming and a large degree of carbon reserves are left in the ground, shares in fossil fuel companies will drop significantly in value. As such, investments in fossil fuels risk exposure to this 'carbon bubble'. There is already evidence that fossil fuel-free portfolios are capable of out-performing those including fossil fuel investments.The fossil fuel industry is volatile and the historical bankable returns MUST not and CANNOT be relied upon in the 21st century. See http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/20/04/2015/11-reasons-divest-fossil-fuel-industry for a comprehensive overview for reasons to divest now.

  133 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Claire Wickham
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  North Yorkshire Fossil Fuel Divestment

  The North Yorkshire Pension Fund Committee could, like a growing number of other Local Authority-administered Pension Funds, adopt a strategy of steady 'divestment and re-investment'. This means moving away from investing in an increasingly unstable and more costly fossil fuel dependency towards a cleaner, cheaper and ultimately more profitable renewable future, which will enable local communities across North Yorkshire and beyond to benefit. To help achieve this, we are asking the Pension Fund Committee to: 1. Freeze any new investment in the top 200 publicly-traded fossil fuel companies[1] at the earliest opportunity [1] The Carbon Underground 200 Project, at http://fossilfreeindexes.com/research/the-carbon-underground 2. Commit to a policy of divesting or withdrawing from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds over the next 5 years; and of re-investing in a new carbon-free portfolio of more local, ethical and renewable energy technologies and infrastructure developments 3. Include these action points above in the Pension Fund Committee’s Investment Strategy Statement, with effect from the earliest possible date. (* Adapted from the petition model in the Gofossilfree campaign’s guidance – see Local Government Guide at https://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/#action )

  130 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Mike Barron
• Worcestershire County Council Divest from Fossil Fuels

  It has been reported (http://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/) that the Worcestershire County Council Pension Fund has £197,423,000 (10.74% of its total pension fund) invested in fossil fuels. If fossil fuel companies extract and burn just 20% of the reserves they hold, this will cause catastrophic climate change (extreme weather, food shortages and conflict). The urgency of stopping climate change requires that we progressively stop burning fossil fuels now. It is irresponsible and immoral for public bodies and pension funds to invest in fossil fuel extraction companies and instead they should, where possible, direct investment into 'green energy' infrastructure. Fossil fuel companies are highly overvalued due to the assumption that all of their reserves will be burnt. But as policy catches up to climate realities, this overvaluation means there’s a multi-trillion dollar “carbon bubble” that’s poised to burst. This will greatly effect the value of our Pensions if they are still invested in Fossil Fuels.

  121 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Matthew Jenkins