Scottish council pension funds are investing some £2billion in the fossil fuel industry, campaigners have claimed. New analysis by Friends of the Earth Scotland and Platform shows Scotland’s biggest investor in oil and gas is the Strathclyde Pension Fund - administered by Glasgow City Council.
Campaigners are urging pension funds to finally act on the calls from councillors to wind down fossil fuels investments - warning that “virtually all” oil and gas companies are now planning to ramp up production. “Councils must play their part in protecting the long-term future of their employees by ending their support for oil and gas expansion and investing in building a cleaner, safer future for us all. But their attempts to do this are being blocked by the pension fund managers.
"These dirty deals threaten the future of our environment, and needlessly risk the retirements of the hundreds of thousands of Unison members that pay into local government pension schemes. To secure a future worth retiring into, schemes should respond to members’ calls to action and dump these dated fossil fuel assets.”