22nd March 2021, Downpatrick: Local Rowallane councillor, Patrick Brown, is again raising the issue of divesting councillors’ pension funds away from fossil fuels, following his successfully passed motion two years ago.
Cllr Brown said: “After recent findings from environmental activist groups have come to light, it is my understanding that the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC), who are responsible for the local government pension scheme, still hold around £113million of investments in fossil fuel companies. This is not only poor practice from an ethical point of view given the current climate crisis, but it is also a questionable investment strategy in the long term and puts member’s pensions at risk.”
Cllr Brown continued: “In March 2019, I brought a motion that meant NILGOSC had to divest councillors’ pension funds away from fossil fuel companies within five years. Yet, despite being two years later, it is unclear if any steps have been taken to do so, with a large sum of funds still being used to support unethical and harmful activities.”
“To effectively address the global climate crisis, we must all play our part; action must occur on an international, national and local government level. Since 1998, just 100 fossil fuel companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and they continue to search for even more fossil fuel reserves. This is despite the fact that, if we are to meet the terms of the Paris Climate Agreement and keep warming below 2°C, we must start radically reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. As such, we must divest funds away from these companies, in the hope that falling profit margins will encourage them to reassess their business models, shifting the focus to renewable energy. Additionally, given the inherent economic risks faced by the fossil fuel industry from climate change agreements and the strong performance of non-fossil fuel energy companies, councillors’ pensions will be better off in the long run by divesting.”
Cllr Brown concluded: “In light of this, I have reached out to NILGOSC and asked it to highlight any action that has been taken to divest our pension funds from fossil fuels since my motion. It is important that measures are put in place to address the climate crisis now, before it is too late, so I hope that NILGOSC are open to divesting funds immediately, if they have not already done so.”
ENDS
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