Divest Lothian

We all deserve a future worth retiring for, but fossil fuels threaten that future, both here in the Lothians and around the world. It's time for the Lothian Pension Fund to make a strong commitment to sustainability.
Scientists are clear that the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - is the main driver of warming around the world, the effects of which can already be seen in hurricanes in the Caribbean, wildfires in the US and Europe and catastrophic flooding in Asia. More warming will cause increasing devastation.
The Lothian Pensions Fund invests £153 million in fossil fuel companies like BP and Shell, whose business plans, and the valuations of their shares, are based on a world which continues to warm.
Efforts to tackle climate change, such as banning fracking and phasing out fossil fuel-powered cars, make the future for fossil fuel companies more risky.
The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that the "vast majority of [fossil fuel] reserves are unburnable" if climate change is to be limited to safe levels as pledged by the world's governments.
By investing in the companies most responsible for climate change funds risk significant losses, fail to protect members' best interests, and miss an opportunity to take leadership on sustainability.
By committing to divest, the Lothian Pension fund would join responsible investors including the Cities of New York and Paris. Over twenty Scottish MPs, including Ian Blackford, Christine Jardine and Ian Murray, have also supported disinvestment of their own pension fund.