To whom it may concern,
FALKIRK PENSION FUND LOSES OVER 34 MILLION AS FOSSIL FUEL INVESTMENTS CRASH IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
The non-profit organisation, Platform, commissioned Transition Economics to conduct the analysis (1), which showed that the combined investments by 10 Scottish local government pension funds into leading oil companies, including BP and Royal Dutch Shell, collapsed between April 2017 and November 2020.
Falkirk Council’s Pension Fund which saw losses of £34,769,72. Translating to hundreds of pounds lost for every member of the fund in Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Stirling.
Concerned constituents and members of the local Divest Falkirk campaign have been actively engaging councillors and representatives of the Falkirk council Pension Fund since 2018. We have been calling for an end to fossil fuels investments and instead a commitment to renewable energy and needed infrastructure like social housing.
Particularly concerning was the lack of interest and concern from the SNP group. A meeting was held between campaign members with Paul Garner, SNP environment spokesperson for the Falkirk Council, in 2019. Despite passing a motion declaring a climate emergency, the investment concerns were not taken seriously.
Combined factors of climate change, where the burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – is the main driver of this problem, there is also a serious threat to pensions as the oil and gas sector continues to collapse.
This analysis concluded that, across the UK, local authority pension funds could have lost at least £1.75 billion in value over the past three years as a result of retaining their investments in just nine oil & gas companies.
Angus Maclean from Divest Falkirk said:
“We have on many occasions raised these financial risks with councillors and unfortunately they have been met with deaf ears. It is time the Falkirk Pension Fund listens and works towards a more sustainable future for all of us.”
END
Contact details:
Angus Maclean
NOTES TO EDITORS
(1) Original report 'Value lost to UK local authority pensions due to oil investments'
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