Green motion calling on Northumberland pension fund to divest from fossil fuels voted down

The motion, brought by Alnwick councillor Martin Swinbank, said that the pension fund currently has at “least £461m invested in fossil fuels” – although this figure was disputed by the fund in October.

The party said this was 5.1% of its total portfolio and “well above average” for UK local Government pension funds.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of the county council, the Greens argued that the council had already declared a climate emergency and pledged to go Carbon Neutral by 2030.

Cllr Swinbank said: “2023 globally was the warmest year since records began. 2015 to 2023 had seven of the warmest years on record. CO2 Levels are still going up.

“The pledges through COP to try and meet the 2015 Paris Agreement will lead us to a world which is plus 2.5 to plus 2.9 degrees warmer by 2100. That may seem like a long way off, but a child born today will be 76 then. We all hope to live that long.

“Children born in this county today will be feeling this. What will Northumberland look like in 2100?

“This motion encourages the pension fund to divest by 2030, going beyond its current target of 2050.

"Northumberland County Council has declared a climate emergency and our target for the county of Northumberland is net zero by 2030.”

The leader of the council and the Conservative group, Glen Sanderson, gave his councillors a free vote on the issue – but encouraged them to abstain.

He said: “I’m incredibly proud of the work we have all agreed on with the climate change action plan and all the good work we’re seeing across the county with climate change and green policy.

“But, my group feel very strongly that we must not do anything at all that would impact on pensioners or people that will benefit from this scheme. Whatever we agree today will actually not have any bearing at all because the pension fund has its own set of rules."

Labour leader Coun Scott Dickinson was more firm in his opposition.

He said: “We can’t do anything that destabilises the fund. It supports thousands of retired workers.

“I’m confident that climate and the impact of the fossil fuel industry is being looked at, but until we see a firm action plan that allows us to move away, we can’t support a motion that wants to accelerate that that potentially at the risk of the fund.”

The plans were voted down by 16 votes to 10, with 27 abstentions.

In October, the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund denied claims from Platform and Friends of the Earth that it had at least £461m invested in oil, coal and gas companies in the 2021/22 financial year.

At the time, a spokesperson said: “Our own investment managers have confirmed that as at the end of March 2022, our actual holdings in oil, gas and coal companies was £324 million. By 31 March 2023, this figure had reduced to £239 million.”