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To: Hartlepool Borough Council

Divest Hartlepool From Fossil Fuels

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Divest Hartlepool From Fossil Fuels

1. Immediately freeze any new investment in the top 200 publicly-traded fossil fuel companies;
2. Divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
3. Consider how money currently invested in fossil fuels could be reinvested into clean energy, local infrastructure or other public goods.

Why is this important?

Local councils invest over £14 billion in the fossil fuel industry.
We know that to stop catastrophic climate change we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground and transition quickly towards a clean renewable economy.

350 parts per million is what many scientists, climate experts, and progressive national governments are now saying is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere.

Accelerating arctic warming and other early climate impacts have led scientists to conclude that we are already above the safe zone at our current 390ppm, and that unless we are able to rapidly return to below 350 ppm this century, we risk reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt.

It’s imperative that our councils and pension funds break ties with this sector and divest from fossil fuels. By doing so, they can take necessary action to protect fund members’ pensions from risky investments, and join hundreds of public institutions worldwide in taking a stand against an industry which is causing climate chaos and endangering our future.

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Hartlepool, United Kingdom

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Updates

2017-04-19 11:24:25 -0400

Hello,

Tomorrow I have been invited to attend a televised, Question Time style debate at BBC Tees, where all 4 candidates for the Tees Valley Mayor election will be answering questions.
My question is "will the future mayor encourage the transition quickly towards a clean renewable economy by supporting divestment of council pension funds from the fossil fuel industry as soon as possible?"

The 'Metro Mayor' will not have any executive power over the respective pension funds of the constituent councils of the Tees Valley area, but a 'pro green' Mayor could be an influencer in any divestment campaign.

The televised debate is being recorded and will air as 'A Mayor for the North East' on BBC1 North East & Cumbria at 10.45pm on Thursday 20th April.

2017-03-30 17:03:50 -0400

Hello and thank you to everyone who has signed the petition for a Fossil Free Hartlepool. The campaign has got off to a slow start, but that is about to change as the elections for the new Tees Valley Mayor loom ever closer in May. I will be attending a televised event in April where I will get the chance to ask the candidates about divestment. I will share more details with you soon.
Please share the petition with your friends too.
Please also check out the campaign Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fossilfreehartlepool/
Twitter also at
https://twitter.com/fossilfreehart

2017-02-07 14:47:33 -0500

10 signatures reached