Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey takes first steps to divest from fossil fuels
A ground-breaking pledge to invest one-third of Haringey Council’s equity funds into a Low Carbon Fund was agreed by the council’s Pensions Committee last week (Thursday 14 January).
The innovative approach will mean that the council will have no investments in coal industries anywhere in the world, and also comes with an agreement to explore making specific investment in low carbon economy sectors such as renewable energy.
The agreement followed lobbying by members of Friends of the Earth, Muswell Hill Sustainability Group and others. A petition on the subject has also now reached more than 2,500 names and will be presented to a future Full Council meeting, when local campaigners will be asking Haringey Council to move more of its funds into Low Carbon equities in the near future.
Speaking to the meeting, Friends of the Earth representative Quentin Given said: “You have a duty of care to pension fund members. That includes preserving a decent world for them to live in. To stay within 2 degrees of warming we have to leave 80% of the coal and oil we already know about in the ground, unburnt. But there are financial reasons to do this too – we are already seeing the value of coal companies dropping as the world moves towards renewable energy”
Cllr Joe Goldberg, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Social Inclusion and Sustainability, said: “When we are seeking to become London’s first zero-carbon borough, it doesn’t make sense for us to continue to invest in fossil fuels when we want to reduce, and indeed end, demand for them.
“The interest in this issue from local campaigners shows how passionately people in Haringey feel about the environment, and we share that passion.
“I’m proud that the council’s pensions committee has agreed not only to move some funds into a low carbon fund but to also consider investing in low carbon industry, giving us the opportunity to tackle carbon emissions while still getting the best return on our pensions fund.”
Photo shows Cara Jenkinson, Carmen Irizzaray, Tim Root and Joyce Rosser at the meeting
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Any particular fund they're considering Quentin? An important issue highlighted recently is apparently these separately run council funds are expensive to run, costs of personnel running them are going up and alledgedly they're not making good investment decisions. It's suggested council pension funds should merge, e.g. a London councils fund, reduce costs, get better advice with more buying power and a more coordinated approach. That would also help in the GP's aspiration for greener tech investment but also in use for UK infrastructure investment.
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Permalink Reply by Quentin Given on
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Matt they are using L&G (I assume this is Legal and General) capacity to invest in line with the MSCI World Low Carbon Target Index Fund. This is apparently what the Environment Agency is doing with its pension fund. I am not an investment expert but I am told this is a sound approach that does send a good signal to the market.
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