Metro mayor calls on pension scheme to ‘divest entirely from fossil fuel stocks’

Metro mayor Dan Norris is calling on the region’s local government pension scheme to cut links with fossil fuels.

The Labour head of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), whose staff are members of Avon Pension Fund along with thousands of employees from the region’s four councils, has tabled a motion to the WECA committee on Friday calling on the scheme to “divest entirely from fossil fuel stocks” and commit to 2030 carbon neutrality.

But concerns have been raised that severing ties with traditional oil, coal and gas companies will also mean slashing investment in green energy because firms like Shell and BP are also world leaders in newer, clean technologies.

And the flip side of that argument is that most of the biggest green power providers still earn a small proportion from older, dirtier resources, so divestment would withdraw funding for businesses critical to low-carbon goals.

Dan Norris is calling on the scheme to “divest entirely from fossil fuel stocks” – photo: West of England Combined Authority

But Norris is siding with Green politicians, who are campaigning for divestment, and against some Labour ones who oppose the move.

Norris’s motion says: “In light of the climate emergency and the West of England’s 2030 net zero target, the West of England Combined Authority calls on the Avon Pension scheme to match this ambition by committing to having a carbon neutral pension fund by 2030 or earlier; and to divest entirely from fossil fuel stocks.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting service, the metro mayor said: “There’s a climate emergency and that means everyone needs to do their bit including local pension funds.

“People I speak to want their hard-earned pension savings to be secure, but they also want to make sure there is a world left worth retiring to for them and their children.

“If we’re going to build the sustainable society people want and deserve then divestment is vital and sometimes that means showing moral leadership.

“As metro mayor I am calling on the Avon Pension Fund to match our own ambitious West of England 2030 climate target and divest from fossil fuels by that date.

“I hope to see a step change as investors switch from carbon-intensive sectors and instead make long-term, regional investments that don’t harm our precious planet.

Some councillors point out that many fossil fuel companies are moving towards sustainable alternatives, and that the council needs these firms on their side – photo: Pixabay

“I firmly believe the people are ahead of the politicians in wanting to take real, decisive action to tackle climate change.”

But concerns were raised by WECA overview & scrutiny committee on Monday, June 27.

Chairman and Bath & North East Somerset Liberal Democrat councillor Winston Duguid told the meeting: “Nobody is more committed to net zero than me, but there’s a huge recalibration going in the world in some fossil fuel companies who are moving to be major owners of sustainable alternatives.

“I think BP is the largest solar company in Europe, so it’s a worry being so blunt. Different fossil fuel companies are at different stages on the journey converting to net zero.”

Bristol Conservative councillor Geoff Gollop said: “I’m not opposed to the concept of decarbonising, but I’m also not convinced that we should completely divest from companies that have something to do with fossil fuels.

“We might actually be misjudging those who are making significant investments to change the way they operate.”

Green councillors called on Avon Pension Fund to divest at a Bristol City Council meeting in April, insisting it was “fantasy” to believe net zero could be achieved by engaging with fossil fuel firms and that there were renewable energy firms with no links to old, damaging industries.

Labour group leader councillor Steve Pearce, the council’s representative on the local pension board, warned of “unintended consequences” and said it was “not a binary issue” because many traditional fossil fuel multinationals were leading investors in green energy.

The metro mayor’s motion will be decided by a vote of Norris, Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees, South Gloucestershire Council Conservative leader councillor Toby Savage and B&NES Council leader Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Guy, or their substitutes if any.

North Somerset Council, whose staff are also in the fund, is not part of WECA.

Main photo: West of England Combined Authority

Read more: Environmental activists ‘hijack’ billboard to criticise WECA on public transport

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