Skip to main content

To: NILGOSC

Divest The Local Government Pension Fund for NI from Fossil Fuels

1. Immediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuels.
2. Divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 3 years.

Why is this important?

Climate change is the greatest threat facing us today. Air pollution from fossil fuels in NI already contributes to 500 premature deaths annually [1]. A small number of very powerful fossil fuel companies bear most responsibility for the climate crisis we are now facing [2]. The time for action is now!

For many people pension funds conjure up ideas of future security. However, the Local Government Pension Scheme for Northern Ireland (LGPS NI) is threatening our future by investing millions in climate wrecking fossil fuel industries. The LGPS NI is used by Northern Irish councils and by a huge number of local employers across Northern Ireland. Meaning, your pension could be fuelling climate change.

Not only is this unethical but it is also financially risky [3]. We know that 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must remain unused if we are to avoid runaway climate chaos.

Why are we investing in companies actively engaged in exploration for even more fossil fuel reserves?
Financial experts, such as the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, are warning that the vast majority of fossil fuel assets will become ‘unburnable’ – and therefore worthless! Which means that the value of fossil fuel company stocks is likely to fall – and leave unsavvy investors with huge losses.
.
We want the governing body of LGPS NI, - the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Scheme (NILGOSC) - to agree to completely divest the pension scheme from fossil fuels by 2022. This will protect both our pensions and human lives from the devastating impacts of climate change.

References

[1] https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/fossil-fuel-pollution-kills-553-people-in-northern-ireland-everyyear-claims-expert-30965875.html.

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-globalemissions-cdp-study-climate-change

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-46146866

Northern Ireland, UK

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Category

Links

Updates

2019-09-10 09:27:20 -0400

100 signatures reached

2019-06-08 06:28:29 -0400

50 signatures reached

2019-02-02 16:05:38 -0500

25 signatures reached

2019-01-29 12:28:57 -0500

10 signatures reached