Campaigners from Divest London hand in petition to LPFA Chair – Merrick Cockell
London, UK — Campaigning group Divest London today handed in a petition with over two thousand signatures to the London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) asking them to divest the fund from fossil fuel companies [1].
The campaign has so far won support from the London Assembly, who passed a motion in favour of divestment, and new Mayor Sadiq Khan who included it in his election manifesto. The LPFA, however, has so far refused to act.
Spokesperson Gabriel Davalos from Divest London commented;
“Over the past month, Berlin, Washington D.C. and Stockholm have all broken ties with the fossil fuel industry and chosen to divest from fossil fuels. London is a leading city in so many ways but when it comes to tackling climate change, it’s falling behind.
“We hope the LPFA uses this opportunity to be a climate leader. The financial and environmental risks of not divesting are too great to delay action any longer”
The LPFA manages the pensions of nearly 80,000 Londoners and invests over £50 million in the fossil fuel industry, both through direct holdings in companies like Shell, BP and Rio Tinto, and through investment in pooled funds. Across the UK, local government controlled pension funds invest over £14 billion in fossil fuels [2].
Divest London is part of a global campaign to get public institutions and pension funds to divest from fossil fuels. So far globally funds worth more than $3.4 trillion have made divestment commitments, including more than 50 pension funds and 70 cities and states [3].
NOTES:
- To view the petition, go to: http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/divest-city-hall-from-fossil-fuel-investments
- To view the full data set, go to: https://gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions/
- To view all the global commitments, go to: https://gofossilfree.org/commitments/
- For more information on the Divest London campaign, visit the website: http://divestlondon.org/
CONTACT: For photos and further quotes — divestlondon@gmail.com, Twitter – @divestlondon