ACTIVISTS staged a protest inside Glasgow City Chambers today to highlight the Strathclyde pension fund’s investment of hundreds of millions in climate polluters such as BP and Shell.
The protest, carried out by Extinction Rebellion Glasgow, follows an investigation into the fund by environmental groups Divest Strathclyde, Fossil Free Glasgow and Friends of the Earth Scotland.
The investigation revealed that the Strathclyde Pension Fund, managed by Glasgow City Council, has an estimated £709 million invested in fossil fuel companies.
The figures will be embarrassing for the pension fund, who are due to host the United Nations COP26 climate talks in November. Glasgow councillors declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, which they described as “an opportunity to show leadership globally”. Strathclyde Pension Fund Committee will debate the issue on Wednesday, March 4. Activists have vowed to picket the meeting.
Geraldine Clayton, Strathclyde Pension Fund member and campaigner with Divest Strathclyde, said: “Our pension funds are meant to be all about planning for the future. Every pound currently being invested in fossil fuel companies is funding activity that is endangering our future. How can Glasgow claim to be addressing the climate emergency when the council pension fund is invested in climate polluters?
“We need to take our money out of fossil fuel and invest it instead in renewable energy.”
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