Bristol burns fossil fuel investments

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