Notice of Motion

GREEN GROUP AND LABOUR & COOPERATIVE GROUP

PENSION FUND DIVESTMENT

That council agrees to request that officers contact the East Sussex Pensions Committee in order to:

1) Congratulate the East Sussex Pensions Committee (ESPC) on the moves it is making to reduce the exposure of the Pensions Fund from 4% to 2%;

2) Highlight the overcapacity and fragility of the fossil fuel system, and the prospect of big near-term losses for investors like the East Sussex Pensions Committee, as a result of analysis which shows that demand for fossil fuels has likely already peaked; [1] and further, wishes to stress to the ESPC that rapid and unprecedented action is going to be necessary in order to keep global warming to ‘well below 2ºC' and that such action is incompatible with continued investment in giant oil and gas companies like Shell and BP;

Council therefore also requests, through contact with the East Sussex Pensions Committee:

3) That the ESPC commit now to a complete phase-out of the Fund’s investments in fossil fuels, in line with  the declarations made by both Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council of a ‘climate emergency,’ and associated climate change mitigation targets.

Proposed by: Cllr Druitt                                                  Seconded by: Cllr Yates

Supporting information

[1] Analysis by energy consultancy groups and think tanks has shown that it is likely that fossil fuel demand has peaked, posing a significant risk to dependent financial markets. Carbon Tracker said financial markets faced a “systemic risk” from a reduction in value to the fossil fuel industry’s $25tn (£19tn) worth of assets, due to demand peaking. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/have-we-passed-peak-demand-for-fossil-fuels