One of the actions of Nottingham City Council’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan is to campaign for divestment and move the Nottinghamshire Local Government Pension Scheme away from fossil fuels investments. This is why ahead of their Annual General Meeting tomorrow I submitted a question on behalf of City members of the scheme, and urged the Fund to commit to consult with its members on a divestment strategy and timeline before their next AGM. This is essential to ensure the long term sustainability of the Fund and to play it’s part in the prevention of catastrophic climate change.
The Pension Fund covers over 300 members including Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, the District Councils and many other organisations who are generally non-profit making, or are undertaking a service which was, or could be carried out by the Local Authority. It is controlled by County Councillors and the City Council has no voting rights on the Pension Fund.
I know that the primary responsibility of the Pension Fund is to protect the financial benefits of the scheme, and now that there is growing evidence that fossil fuel investments are performing less well than comparators it is the time to grasp the divestment nettle. Currently Nottinghamshire Pension Fund holds at least £170m in fossil fuel company shares and has no investments in sustainable, low carbon or renewable energy equity funds.
Given over 1300 institutions worldwide have already committed to divestment, including at least 10 UK local government pension funds and a large number of UK universities and faith organisations, it is time for Nottinghamshire to catch up and do its bit for a sustainable future.
You can watch the Nottinghamshire Pension Fund AGM live on Youtube from tomorrow at 10:30am. Further information about the agenda of the meeting and those in attendance can be found on the Nottinghamshire County Council website.
