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To: Staffordshire Pension Fund

Divest Staffordshire Pension Fund

1. Immediately freeze any new investment in 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.

We are calling on the Staffordshire Pension Fund and all participating organisations to commit to divesting investments and pensions from fossil fuels and to institute and abide by ethical investment policies that prevent profiting through causing social harm.

Why is this important?

Staffordshire Pension Fund is the Local Government Pension Fund for the county of Staffordshire and is funded through pension contributions from employees of publicly-funded organisations such as Staffordshire County Council, Stoke City Council, the Office of the Chief Constable Staffordshire, Staffordshire University, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and other parishes, towns, boroughs and public organisations across Staffordshire.

As of 31 December 2015, the Pension Fund holds at least £61,879,853.16 worth of shares in companies from the fossil fuel industry, including £20,180,703.41 worth of shares in six of the world's biggest oil companies: BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Lukoil, who are jointly responsible for major environmental damage and human rights violations the world over. In total, the Pension Fund holds £42,334,871.79 in 14 of the 90 companies responsible for two-thirds of the global greenhouse gases emissions since 1854.

By continuing to grant social legitimacy to the burning of fossil fuels, the Staffordshire Pension Fund and all its participating organisations are complicit in driving unprecedented climate change. Climate change is happening now - we’re already experiencing global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets and more frequent and intense extreme weather events affecting thousands of communities and millions of people across the world.

Investing in fossil fuels is not only damaging to the planet, it's also a very risky investment. The Staffordshire Pension Fund has already seen a massive decrease in its investment, losing £21,573,041.12 (or 25.85%) worth of shares in companies such as Glencore, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Lukoil and others.

By removing investments in fossil fuel companies, the Staffordshire Pension Fund and all its participating bodies and organisations will be showing their commitment to creating a healthy, sustainable and financially viable future for both the people of Staffordshire and the planet as a whole.

Please sign this petition if you believe that the Staffordshire Pension Fund should divest from fossil fuels to protect the planet and the financial future of thousands of workers from across Staffordshire.

Staffordshire, United Kingdom

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2017-11-11 08:36:50 -0500

25 signatures reached

2017-05-03 16:05:37 -0400

10 signatures reached