• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • LATIF
  • Conferences
  • Dashboard
  • Edit My Profile
  • Log In
  • Logout
  • Register
  • Edit this post

Room 151

  • 151 BRIEF

    What's New?

  • Consultation opens on future of IFRS 9 statutory override

    August 12, 2022

  • EAPF criticised for water company investments

    August 10, 2022

  • Welsh pension fund confirms £50m investment in clean energy

    August 10, 2022

  • Inflation ‘disastrous’ for local services, warns LGA

    August 10, 2022

  • Consultation opens into care charging reforms

    August 9, 2022

  • ADASS survey: ‘worst fears confirmed for adult social care’

    August 5, 2022

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews
  • Briefs

Bristol burns fossil fuel investments

0
  • by Colin Marrs
  • in Treasury
  • — 19 Feb, 2015

4273041695_3d304b8dfe_z
Bristol City Council has amended its ethical investment policy to ban direct investment in companies involved in fossil fuel extraction.

The news comes shortly after Global Divestment Day, which took place on Saturday, when hundreds of events took place across the world putting pressure on organisations to divest from oil, coal and gas industries.

At this month’s regular question time session, Bristol mayor George Ferguson announced his council’s new policy.

“At January’s members’ forum, I pledged to amend the council’s ethical investment policy to include those companies whose core activities include the extraction of fossil fuels,” he said.

“Following discussion with relevant members of the council, I am pleased to announce that the policy has been amended to reflect this pledge.”

He added that ensuring the council’s policies reflect a commitment to greener urban living was “critically important”.

“What may appear as a minor change on paper will ensure a lasting impact on how the council does business in the future,” he said.

Bristol City Council’s treasury funds are not, at present, directly invested in the fossil fuel industry.

However, the Avon Pension Fund (APF), of which they are a member along with councils in Bath and Somerset, holds significant fossil fuel investments.

Bristol’s move follows a similar decision by Oxford City Council, which in July last year passed a motion proposed by Green Party councillor Craig Simmons, which incorporated the council’s  ethical investment policy into the treasury management strategy.

The final motion, as amended by Labour councillors, stopped short of divesting from indirect investments.

Councillor Ruthi Brandt, who seconded the divestment motion said: “We are proud that Oxford is the first local authority in the country to highlight the need to stop investing in fossil fuels.

“This is an industry that should be winding down rather than investing in more and more extreme forms of fossil fuel extraction.”

Danielle Paffard, UK divestment campaigner at 350.org, the organisation behind Global Divestment Day, told Room151: “There is a moral argument for councils to stop investing in fossil fuels – this is public money and it shouldn’t be funding this harmful industry.

“But there is also a practical reason – councils are often the ones that pick up the bill for global warming through flooding and the ensuing disruption.”

She added that there was growing evidence that fossil fuel companies are overvalued and are not a good investment choice.

“The financial argument is being undermined – research shows that portfolios with no fossil fuel investments often do better than those without them.”

Photo (cropped): Horai Varlan, Flickr

Share

You may also like...

  • Treasurers can expect low yields despite inflation spike 21st May, 2021
  • No ‘fire sale’ of treasury assets under new Prudential code 8th Oct, 2021
  • Bank of England battles inflation with latest interest rate rise 21st Mar, 2022
  • Investors ‘potentially damaging housing business models’, MOTB attendees told 28th Mar, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • 151 BRIEFS – WHAT’s NEW?

    • Inflation ‘disastrous’ for local services, warns LGA
    • Consultation opens into care charging reforms
    • ADASS survey: ‘worst fears confirmed for adult social care’
    • GMCA to unlock funds for home energy-efficiency upgrades
    • Levelling up committee calls for urgent boost to social care funding
  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    Valuations & Risk
    LGPS Women

  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    LGPS Women
    Valuations & Risk
  • Latest tweets

    Room151 3 days ago

    LATIF/FDs’ Summit ‘on course to be biggest yet’: Room151’s flagship event – the Local Authority Treasurers Investment Forum (LATIF) and FDs’ Summit – is on course to be the biggest yet, with more than 200 delegates expected. Combining[...] dlvr.it/SWSDrL pic.twitter.com/f8FXzcAdWB

    Room151 3 days ago

    ‘Local government treated worse than any other part of public sector’: Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, talks to Mike Thatcher about lack of progress on levelling up, pork-barrel politics and why local government… dlvr.it/SWRk1L pic.twitter.com/Jpw0BsOsy3

    Room151 4 days ago

    Which LGPS pools and funds are attending the LGPS Investment Forum on Nov 2 & the LGPS Private Markets Forum on Nov 1st? Answer here: lnkd.in/eDHU8tuy pic.twitter.com/D3gd63Rh7F

    Room151 5 days ago

    LGPS and levelling up: nothing to fear but fear itself: There have been a number of objections to government plans for LGPS funds to invest 5% of their assets in local projects. But George Graham says these objections can be[...] dlvr.it/SWL7vt pic.twitter.com/ebwBEkZTy4

    Room151 5 days ago

    George Graham @SYpensions @bordertocoast channels his inner FDR in a call for local government pension funds to avoid the fear factor and embrace levelling up #LGPS #localgov room151.co.uk/local-governme…

    Room151 6 days ago

    Changes to rules on capital receipts raise wider questions: Stephen Kitching argues that DLUHC’s latest rule changes are part of a series following on from revisions to MRP guidance and the purchase of commercial property. He questions whether… dlvr.it/SWGqKC pic.twitter.com/Ycr5hWZDPk

    Room151 1 week ago

    ‘No ifs, no buts’: the Bank of England continues its battle with inflation: Partner Content: CCLA Investment Management’s Robert Evans discusses the MPC’s 0.5% increase in the Official Bank Rate and its ongoing commitment to the 2% inflation target… dlvr.it/SW7SNC pic.twitter.com/ryOzYRSNA9

    Room151 1 week ago

    DLUHC changes rules on flexible use of capital receipts: The levelling up secretary has written to all council leaders to amend the rules concerning the flexible use of capital receipts to fund transformation projects. In his letter, Greg Clark[...] dlvr.it/SW3jyX pic.twitter.com/KEhSSaMITl

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    Local audit and financial reporting: let’s take back control: Mazars’ Suresh Patel suggests three steps that auditors and council finance teams should take to help get financial reporting and local audit back on track. Following my recent appearance… dlvr.it/SW0PfV pic.twitter.com/miL7pjukce

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Previous story John Kelly: Commercial property makes a return
  • Next story Commission: “End fluctuating grant funding”

© Copyright 2022 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.

0 shares