Tayside Pension Fund trustees have signalled a move away from fossil fuel investments in recognition of the climate emergency.
More than 51,000 people and 46 employers belong to the fund. This includes local councils, colleges, non-uniformed police staff and other organisations.
Trustees have agreed to investigate energy firms in its portfolio. They will move away from companies that “are not strongly committed to reducing emissions”.
Andrew Llanwarne, Friends of the Earth Tayside, said the trustees had responded after “a long period of pressure on the issue”.
He said: “Friends of the Earth Tayside welcomes the indication that the Tayside Pension Fund may finally decide to move its investments out of fossil fuels.”
Mr Llanwarne added: “We can see that the demand for fossil fuels will reduce dramatically over the coming years as we rapidly shift to low-carbon alternatives.”
Dundee University’s pension scheme, for example, has agreed to transfer its £1.7m of fossil fuel investments in the next five years.
Millions invested in oil and gas companies
The fund oversees investments and assets in excess of £4.15 billion
Friends of the Earth claim the Tayside fund currently has £117 million invested in the oil and gas industry.
The pressure group has criticised the trustees for continuing to hold investments in oil and gas multinationals such as Royal Dutch Shell despite Dundee becoming one of the first local authorities in Scotland to declare a climate emergency in 2019.
Pension committee chair Willie Sawers said: “It’s important that we think of the bigger picture and act ethically while doing so.
“We have a duty of care in all aspects of operating as a local authority, and that includes the decisions we take with investments for future pension funds.
“The council is fully committed to minimising its contributions to carbon emissions. This was set out in our Climate Action Plan in 2019 and will continue to be a priority into the future.”
Does pensions move properly recognise Climate Emergency?
Dundee SNP councillor Anne Rendall is a pensions committee member and holds the environment brief in the ruling group.
She said: “We all need to ensure that we practice what we preach and I’m delighted we now have agreement that will result in an investment strategy which recognises the climate emergency.
“The pension fund continues to perform very strongly and it is right that there is an expectation that it plays a role in supporting the environmental, social and economic realities facing our region.”
