Our local councils invest over £14 billion in the fossil fuel industry.
We know that to stop catastrophic climate change we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground and transition quickly towards a clean renewable economy. The fossil fuel industry has spent decades spreading lies about the climate to protect their profits at the expense of people and planet, but together we can turn the tide against them.
It’s imperative that our councils and pension funds break ties with this morally bankrupt sector and divest from fossil fuels. By doing so, they can take necessary action to protect fund members’ pensions from risky investments, and join hundreds of public institutions worldwide in taking a stand against an industry which is causing climate chaos and endangering our future.
On 4 May 2017, local elections will be held across much of the UK. These elections are a great opportunity to build community support and push for divestment from our local councils.
Councillors hold much of these power over local government pension funds. We can mobilise around the May elections to win commitments to work for divestment. Politicians are more susceptible to pressure in the run-up to elections, so now is the time to push politicians and local political parties to support divestment.
Want to find out more? Join our webinar on Monday 23rd January at 7pm!
We’ll hear from some great speakers on the campaign to divest our local councils so far, and how we can use the elections to our advantage, and we’ll be taking your questions live via the chatbox and Twitter (#DivestElections).
Speakers:
- Ellen Gibson – 350.org
- Sarah Shoraka – Platform
- Ric Lander – Friends of the Earth Scotland
Important note: Not every council has elections in May 2017 — if your council area isn’t listen in the dropdown to the right that means there aren’t elections there this time.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved in the campaign to divest our local government! If you want to get stuck into campaigning in your community whether there are elections or not, click here.
Any questions? Email ellen@350.org