Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Environmental group say now is time for Tayside Pension Fund to ditch fossil fuels

Andrew Llanwarne and Mary Henderson, from Friends of the Earth Tayside, are leading the campaign
Andrew Llanwarne and Mary Henderson, from Friends of the Earth Tayside, are leading the campaign

An environmental group is urging the Tayside Pension Fund to move its investments out of fossil fuels as a worldwide push for greener energy gathers momentum.

Friends of the Earth (FOTE) Tayside is questioning the “persistent belief” such investments are sound and say switching to renewable energy companies would be beneficial both environmentally and financially.

The fund is administered by Dundee City Council on behalf of all three Tayside councils.

FOTE say it currently has £117 million invested in the industry, despite Dundee City Council having declared a climate emergency in June 2019.

They say investments include £6.86 million in Royal Dutch Shell, co-owner with Exxon of the Mossmorran plants in Fife.

The site is Scotland’s third largest polluter.

Funds seeing ‘big losses’

FOTE, which has branches across the world, campaigns for better policies to fight climate change.

Andrew Llanwarne, co-ordinator at FOTE Tayside, says many big organisations are realising profits may no longer lie in industries such as oil.

He said: “Evidence from the past three years shows that the value of investments in fossil fuels has halved, resulting in big losses to pension funds.

Climate protesters climb down from Dundee rig as winds prove ‘too much’

“Meanwhile, environmental technology is booming.

“Dundee University is one of several leading universities to have committed to move its investments out of fossil fuels.

“This reflects the advice from experts such as the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney that fossil fuel reserves will become stranded assets.

“We’re encouraging the Tayside Pension Fund to catch up with their thinking.”

The campaign group has approached a number of other local voluntary organisations for support.

It has also contacted elected members of the city council, several of whom are members of the Pension Fund Committee, to urge them to support the shift to a greener economy.

Mary Henderson, who is leading the latest Tayside campaign, said: “Divesting from fossil fuels would be better for the climate and moving away from them would not harm jobs.”

Council wary of risking finances

The local authority says it has a legal and financial duty to act in the best interests of its members and beneficiaries.

However, it does not undertake any direct investment. Instead, it engages external investment managers to make investment decisions on its behalf.

There has been discussion in recent years over whether the fund should move away from certain investments.

VIDEO: Dundee welcomes another huge jackup rig to its shores

In 2013, councillors decided the fund would not seek fresh investment in tobacco firms, however, it is still believed to hold many stocks.

The council has also made a big push to become a greener city in recent years and is one of the UK’s leading local authorities in electric vehicle usage.

A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “In keeping with its fiduciary responsibilities, Tayside Pension Fund has not introduced any disinvestment policy in fossil fuels in order to guard against extremes or selective interpretation which may influence the choice of investments and potentially risk material financial detriment to the fund.

“As one of the 45 employers within Tayside Pension Fund, Dundee City Council could take the decision to ask Tayside Pension Fund to undertake a review into fossil fuel investments to include consultation with the other employers in the fund.”